Winning you over
by Trinnerti
Summary: She was young and succesful, but her love life was another story all together. AU
1. Prologue

**Title:** Winning you over**  
Rating:** M**  
Main pairings:** KakaSaku/ InoSai/ TenNeji**  
Warnings:** AU setting.**  
Summary:** She was young, successful but her love life was another story altogether.

**Winning you over**

Sakura sighed heavily as she pulled her car into her own parking lot. Gathering her notes and bag from the passenger seat beside her she slid out of the car. Making sure she was presentable she moved towards the main entrance. Her heels clicking over the marble floor as she passed through the doors that slid open when she was near. A guard stationed at the desk tipped his head in greeting as she walked by.

"Morning Miss. Haruno."

"Morning Shino," Sakura greeted him back, sliding her name from absent to present and did a double take on the list. A seductive smile reached her lips as she grabbed her personal card and walked to the elevators and pushed the button to go up. So what Ino had told her was true after all. While she stood waiting she smiled at her reflection in the metal doors whilst she pushed an astray lock of her pink hair behind her ear.

She had opted today for a simple yet neat crimson shirt which hugged her subtle curves. A black skirt that barely made it passed her thighs and a pair of black high heels completed her outfit. With a grin she opened the top two buttons to tease a certain someone. It seems that the editor in Chief was back just like Ino had told her yesterday night. The man had known her since she was little but that didn't stop Sakura to get a crush on the man when she was getting older. Now at the age of twenty she was the youngest PR ever of the magazine and had a full blown crush on the editor in chief.

The elevator dinged, forcing Sakura to straighten herself up as she waltzed forwards. She was greeted by a dazzling smile and a warm cup of cappuccino trusted into her free hand.

"Good morning Sakura-chan. Every invitation you send out for the fashion week are all answered and agreed to come, the board meeting is starting over ten minutes and I made certain no appointments are planned before one today," her personal assistant greeted her.

With a long-awaited sip she savoured the taste, her eyes closing briefly as a sound close to a purr escaped her lips. Naruto always knew how to make her day get even better.

"Thanks Naruto. I want you to check my upcoming appointments for next week and arrange anything that had been scheduled on Thursday to another date."

"As you wish."

Sakura smiled, moving into her office and laid down her supplies when a feminine shriek reached her ears. Blinking in surprise Sakura moved out of her office, passed the grand desk that separated her part of the floor from the writers and editors. As she neared her friend's office, her eyes searched for anything that could have caused the screaming. When she heard an angry huff behind her, Sakura turned around and did a double take.

"What happened to you Pig?"

The nice white shirt her friend and managing editor of the magazine _Fire Style_ had been wearing was covered in a wet brown stains. Her pale blue eyes were shooting thunder as she shifted her glare from her shirt to her.

"Some guy ran into me an conveniently dropped his coffee all over me. Now I'll be late for the meeting, and I didn't start the day well to begin with."

Sakura gave her best friend an sympathetic look as they stepped into her office. The room was all whites, browns, and clear windows. The furniture was all brown, while the rest was uninterrupted white. The one thing that made the place to be more alive and feminine was the blood red roses sitting at various tables all around, and on her desk. Two paintings of loud colours sitting on the wall opposite of her large dark oak desk. Sakura had to admit that her favourite item in her office was the big red velvet chair sitting behind said desk. It gave the office a more feminine feel.

As Ino snapped the door closed she stalked towards the small wardrobe Sakura suggested she put in. Inside were two spare sets of clothing for emergencies like this. Sakura in the meanwhile settled herself on the edge of Ino's desk, cleaning her nails absently while she waited for Ino to change. She was dying to ask Ino about last night, and when she couldn't hold it in anymore she began to talk.

"So? Spill, Ino!"

"I've had enough spills for today," Ino grumbled as opened the wardrobe and grabbed one of the sets hanging in there.

Sakura clicked her tongue annoyed, and tried again. "Did you finally break up with Shikamaru?"

Ino nodded, opening the door to the bathroom and leaving it open so she could continue talking with Sakura while she changed into her new set of clothing. "Oh Sakura, it was the worst break-up in history of break-ups. The damned idiot cried."

Sakura choked, her hand dropping back in her lap as she nearly fell over. "He _cried_?" She called out in disbelief.

"Not so loud Forehead!" Ino snapped annoyed. She waited for her apology before she continued on with her story. "Yes he cried. I honestly thought I would be the one since he was the one cheating on me with the daughter of the head of that Suna company… But well, even after all that I think he still had feelings for me and hope to settle down eventually."

Sakura sighed, shaking her head as she watched her friend button her shirt up as she walked back into the office. "If only our boss had the same sense to _move on_," she said with a sigh.

Ino gave Sakura a smart look. "Still pining over him, I see. I thought you and Kiba had a thing going on."

"It's just dating, Ino. Kiba has too much of a wandering eye to actually be someone I want to date exclusively. Guess it comes with the whole 'male-model thing'," Sakura shrugged. She hopped off Ino's desk, and handed over a portfolio as they began to walk out of her office. "The press conference for the show was a success."

Ino nodded in satisfaction- because she had total faith in Sakura's skills, and trusted her to bring the publicity home, she wasn't the youngest PR for nothing- and turned to her assistant. "Moegi, do me a great favour and have someone take my clothes to the cleaners? Someone knocked coffee all over them and they're stained and in my bathroom."

"Right away," the girl chirped. "I got a call from the photographers you hired for the runway show and they all confirmed and will be at the meeting today."

"Thank you Moegi. Take any messages and I will answer them after the meeting," Ino said before she and Sakura disappeared around the corner.

"I hope we get the messenger by tomorrow," Sakura said as they walked to the conference room. "There are a bunch of packages that need to get out to our sister magazines before the end of the week."

The long haired blond nodded in agreement. "Already on it. Two interviews are scheduled today already for the position. Are we all set to kick off fashion week? The invitations for our runway show were all sent out?" Ino asked, checking off a few things on her new Ipad.

Sakura nodded. "I sent out the VIPs and regular invitations last week and everyone has confirmed that they're coming for the show. We've got some pretty big names. Oh, and our boss added a few extra at the last minute."

"But he didn't tell me anything," Ino grumbled in annoyance. She shrugged it off then with a sigh. "I guess he probably invited people he wants to do business with. Do you know if Kakashi is here yet?"

Sakura nodded and her face took on a dreamy note. "For the first time I've worked here, he was earlier than me. I know he was negotiating the cost of the 'all-green' decorations for the show and making sure that we aren't over out budget. The providers wanted to get smart at the last minute and they tried to up the price. Last I heard, our boss had gotten them to _reduce_ from the original price."

Ino chuckled. "That's Kakashi alright."

Together they stepped into the conference room, the last two persons they needed to start the meeting. Kakashi was already there, indicating just how late they were. He was glaring at Sakura across the large conference table, his mismatched eyes narrowed slightly. Ino took a seat and Sakura to her right, preparing the list of their sponsors for the show.

Sakura felt her eyes roam towards the man sitting at the other end of the table. He was tall, handsome, and well dressed, with spiky, silver silky hair that seemed to defy gravity and passionate mismatched eyes. As far Sakura had heard the man talk over it, it was caused by an accident he was in when he had been younger. Said eyes glanced at her and Sakura casually gazed at the documents in her hands, pretending that she hadn't just been ogling him.

"Owww," Sakura hissed when someone kicked her under the table. Her emerald eyes snapped towards Ino and her friend slash boss gave her a pointed look before looking at Kakashi. Sakura followed her eyes towards the other edge of the table and Sakura realized that everyone was looking at her.

"Miss Haruno, the list of sponsors?" Kakashi asked her dryly.

"Oh, sorry," she muttered, her face turning slightly red. She stood and walked towards the head of the table. She began to rattle off the brand of names of perfumes, popular designers, makers of vehicles, handbag designers, and many others who had donated in order for them to advertise at the party as well.

Ino watched with ease in which Sakura spoke and smirked to herself. Though Sakura could be a tad clumsy at times, it seemed to be a sort of switch was thrown when she stood in front of a group of people to pitch her ideas and sell her services as PR of _Fire Style_. It was obvious that the smaller woman had been fantasizing about her boss a few seconds before. It was an impossible dream, Ino knew, because Kakashi had a girlfriend that he had been in love with for many months now. Ino didn't particularly like Anko, but so far the woman had been nice and decent at the times they met. It made her suspicious.

Though Sakura was a very pretty girl, just shy of her twentieth birthday, Anko was a supermodel, and one of the most famous faces at the moment. Kakashi had been fawning over her for some time now and Ino realized that he was starting to look for a woman to start a life and family with. She may not have liked Anko, but if Kakashi was happy…

By the time the meeting ended, Ino was assured that their fashion party, complete with a runway show, and open bar- would be a total success. She waved at Sakura as she walked out of the conference room and Sakura stayed behind to talk to Kakashi.

"You were late," Kakashi said once they were alone.

"Ino had a run-in with some guy, he ended up spilling his coffee all over her," Sakura shrugged. "You know I'm always earlier than you, so it won't happen again."

"Tsunade wants us to have dinner with her on Friday," Kakashi said casually, walking with her towards their offices, which were separate corners from each other. "You've cancelled in the last minute the last two times."

Sakura nodded and let out a heavy sigh. She loved her godmother to bites for giving her this job, and being a mother for her when her own died when she was young. But she couldn't relax when Kakashi would bring that bitch with him to the dinner dates. It always resulted her drinking a tad too much and end up most of the time in Kiba's bed.

Sakura cleared her throat and looked towards Kakashi, who had been awaiting her answer. "I'll go. You know that I don't cancel on purpose. It's just that work…"

"Preaching to the choir," Kakashi murmured. The work load had increased with the upcoming show, and he knew that the girl walking next to him had been working double time to make it a success of the year. "But I at least find time to have a personal life. I wish you'd do the same," He said more firmly.

Sakura chuckled, a seductive smile reaching her lips. "Is that an invitation?"

"Don't start again Sakura," Kakashi answered with a threating tone. "I already told you that I'm not interested in you that way. Besides, have you forgotten about Anko?"

"Of course I haven't," Sakura muttered in annoyance by the mention of his girlfriend. She brushed back her bangs from her eyes and have him a critical look. "Do you honestly think that a runway model on the top of her career is going to want to settle down with you now?"

Kakashi gave her an annoyed look back. It wasn't that he didn't love her, he just didn't want to lead her on when he would never take her seriously. He had known the girl since she was four, and still was that little girl in his eyes. That wouldn't change. She just had to understand that. "Sakura… and you think a twenty year old, fourteen years younger than me is a better option?"

"Love has no age," Sakura answered with a smile.

Kakashi let out something that could only be described as a snort and opened the door to his office. "Nice try Sakura, but the answer is no. I'm happy with Anko. I suggest to do the same with someone else than me," he said, giving her a wave before entering and closing the door.

Sakura just shook her head and continued walking. She would make him reconsider his feelings for her. Now, she only needed to think off another excuse to skip the next dinner planned on Friday.

_**To be continued…**_


	2. Fashion show part one

**Winning you over**

The big pile of packages that needed to be send out was growing steadily, annoying Ino even more than usual. The last issue had been an fluke to say it in the kindest of ways, so the runway so _had_ to be a success or her ass was on the line.

Her head turned momentarily to see Sakura and Kakashi walking out of the conference together. They seemed to be in a deep discussion and deciphering the look on Kakashi's face-which was hard since his damned mask he always insisted on wearing- Sakura made a pass at him again. She really hoped Sakura would have outgrown her crush while Kakashi had been away on a business trip. It pained her to see her pin after a man who didn't seem to share the same feelings at the slightest.

The man was a relative of Sakura's godmother, and when Sakura's mother died, she spend more days with Tsunade, than with her own family. Not that she blamed her. Her old goat of a father was a busy man and hadn't been there for most of the time. But, whenever he did have time, he sure as hell tried to make it up to her by bestowing her with presents and what not.

Because of that Sakura mostly grew up in the presence of Tsunade and Kakashi, therefore Ino could understand just how hard it must be for Kakashi to see the young kid he had looked after when she was little, hitting on him and see him as a love interest. If Ino knew him as she thought she did, he probably blamed it on his karma by reading the Icha Icha series to them once as a bedtime story.

Ino chuckled, remembering the furious and outraged look on Tsunade's face when she found out. Ahh, good times. Moegi looked up surprised, wondering what was going on her mind.

Ino coughed before smiling at her. "Any word yet on the messenger?"

"Yes, Miss. I got a call from Mr. Umino down in HR and he said that he hired a guy. He'll start tomorrow though, since they need to finish all paperwork and the drug tests today."

Ino nodded, checking off mentally when their sister magazines would get their packages. She sighed then. It would be hard, but if the guy worked fast, their deadline on Wednesday would still be achieved. It wasn't how she wanted it to be- preferably the packages would be sent out today- but for now it had to do.

"Okay, Moegie, thank you. Would you mind contacting ANBU Model Agency? I need to talk with Tenten about the pictures we're going to feature in our next issue."

"Ohh, you mean the ones that she took out in Water Country, Kiri?" she asked excitedly.

"Those exactly, Tenten told me that she would be here in Konoha for the fashion show, but I need to get into contact with her before the actual show," Ino explained.

"Right away, Miss Yamanaka!"

Ino sighed, shaking her head with a smile. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Ino, Moegie?" Ino said before entering her office.

**xXx**

Sai had been dreading the moment he finally came face to face with the boss. He was already nearing the end of his first week of his new job and he was already known for being quick and effective, something twisted into innuendo by many of the women working there that he had already met. He didn't mind, he was highly aware that he wasn't bad looking and he liked the attention of the ladies who went out of their way to flirt with him. But another part of him – no matter how small it was- the behaviour seemed strange to him. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? The man trying to pick up a girl and smooth talk them with lines?

He shrugged as he stuffed various envelopes and a few small packages into his messenger bar. Maybe he'd read the book wrong. Sai sighed as he fastened the cord and threw the bag over his shoulder as he made his way to the elevator. The Unchiha Industries seemed to be one of the places he would be frequenting the most and he had to admit that it wasn't too bad. There were a couple of assholes he had met about two days ago, but on the upside he wouldn't be there for long. He would only need to deliver and get the hell out again.

It seemed that the magazine would be providing them some images of the location where the upcoming fashion party would be held so that it could be printed in Saturday's edition of the paper. As he waited for the elevator to open, he nearly ran right into a girl with big brown eyes, and equally chestnut hair that was pulled up in two even buns either side of her head, as she began to exit.

She smiled shyly at him and mumbled an urgent apology. "That's okay," Sai waved it off, assuring her when his eyes moved down when something else caught his eye.

"You know.. If I were any other type of girl I'd be offended that you're staring at my chest," The girl spoke with amusement lighting her tone.

Sai blushed, quickly averting his gaze back to her eyes. "But I can see you're not, not really. You're a photographer?" The girl continued on.

Sai nodded, still looking embarrassed. "I am. Just need one more semester to get my degree. Is that the new Jinchuuri G9?" His voice went up an octave that showed his excitement.

Tenten chuckled, giving him a brilliant smile before she answered his question. "I've only had it for three hours but already love it to bits. I'm Tenten by the way," extending her hand to shake his.

Sai smiled back and shook her hand with a firm grip. That name sounded familiar…

"Sai," he offered. "I guess I missed my elevator."

Tenten gave him a discomfited look and her cheeks coloured a little. "It's my fault. Hey, what time do you go to lunch?"

"Uh…" He was floundered for a few seconds. The women here in the office never been so direct towards him. And yet again, wasn't it usually up to the guy to ask a girl out?

"I get my lunch break at twelve and have an hour before I need to get back."

"How about we meet here at twelve and we can have lunch together while we discuss where you're going with your career once you get your degree?

Sai was amazed that she was offering to hear him out. "Uhm.. sure sounds great," he said. "Are you a reporter?"

She shook her head. "I'm a photographer," she looked at her watch. "One who's late for a meeting with the managing editor," she groaned. "I have some pictures I need to pitch for her for the next month's article of Water fashion styles."

Then it finally dawned on Sai exactly who she was. "You're…you're_ the_ Tenten?" He asked dumbly. She was a legend amongst the photographers for being the first person to photograph the elusive red furred creatures with flaming tails that lived in a deserted part of Demon Country. She had been the first to see them up close and get a snapshot of them. No one else had been able to do the same since, or lived to tell the tale. She had an impressive array of projects that had made her famous at the age of twenty-four. Not to mention that she was engaged to an word famous actor, Neji Hyuuga.

She gave him a bashful smile and nodded. "The one and only," she grinned. "But we talk later, Ino will have my hide if I dare to keep her waiting longer than 10 minutes off the agreed time."

Sai nodded, waved her off before he again pushed on the elevator button. His week was certainly looking up for him. Sai rubbed a hand over his short black hair as he thought over the one thing that echoed through his mind. The name Ino seemed to be familiar... He would figure it out why when he had the chance.

**xXx**

"With this skirt, I need to watch out when bending over," Ino commented as she and Sakura took a look around their completed work. The hall where the party and the fashion show would take place had already begun to fill with reporters, actors, actresses, designers, and buyers. They had gone for a jungle type theme, especially since the designers for the runway show would be using ninja's outfits and camouflage prints.

Sakura turned to look at her best friend and colleague and realized she was right. Ino had put on a cute puffed out black skirt far shorter than should've been allowed. The material glittered with stones at any angle the light hit it, and it exposed a long line of leg. Despite the fact that Ino was a bit lacking in the height department much like herself, the black, knee-high boots helped to add four inches too.

"Why would you be bending in the first place?" Sakura asked her smartly.

Ino snorted. "What if I dropped something, like my purse?"

"Then there will be a gentleman there to pick it up," Sakura said with a grin, winking.

"You're right," Ino grinned back and hooked her arm with Sakura's. "The both of us are too damned hot to pick up anything we may drop ourselves," she said as they began to walk towards the hall where the runway was set up. They were surrounded by jungle all around, and Sakura had to give it to the people who had set it up, they'd done a fantastic job.

"Do you think Kakashi's girlfriend is going to be in this one?"

Sakura grunted, her happy mood fading momentarily. "I suppose she is. Every designer wants her to model their clothes."

A few reporters walked towards them and asked them for a brief interview regarding the show and what was to be expected of the magazine in the future. Sakura answered them swift and on a professional tone like she'd done a million times. She knew how to handle and control publicity in their favour. When they finally stopped bestowing them with questions, Sakura and Ino walked towards their front row seats as people began to trickle in and were seated by attendants with lists of names in their hands.

Crossing her legs, Sakura realized she too needed to watch out for the way she was sitting herself. She had opted for a little black dress from the same designer Ino gotten her skirt from. The material clung to her subtle curves and the small slit at the sides gave a small hint of extra leg that she was already showing. It was almost as short as the skirt she'd been wearing a few days ago, but the slit on both side that showed just a tad more thigh made it more endearing and sexy. Sakura could just imagine once Kakashi saw her the big disapproving look flashing in his eyes with her attempt to tease him.

But Sakura didn't care. She would be damned to miss an opportunity to show him just what he missed out on whenever he turned her down. She felt especially sexy in the dress, and having a pair of matching stilettos to go with her choice of attire was a bonus because they weren't as uncomfortable as she thought they were. Aside from that, her make-up was dark and centered around her eyes to make them look a deeper shade of emerald than it already was, and her hair was in long pink waves, spilling down her back and shoulders and barely touching the end of her shoulder blades.

"If this show didn't put our asses on the line, I'd throw some butter or water onto the runway," Ino muttered from beside her. "That would at least bring out some laughs."

Sakura let out a small laugh despite of herself and shook her head. She looked up when Kakashi stepped into the room, his eyes scanning the room when it fell upon her. She grinned when she saw him do a double take, his eyes trailing up her figure and over her long shaped legs, before he snapped out of it.

His elegant eyebrow twitched in annoyance and she could practically hear his disapproval. None the less he started to walk their way, his hand motioning to Ino.

Sakura sucked in her disappointed, tucking away astray lock of pink hair as she turned her head the other way.

Ino stood up from her spot and moved to meet Kakashi to allow him to introduce her to his guests or partners, she didn't know yet who was with him. She was still smiling when Kakashi moved aside and allowed her a glimpse of their _guests_, but the smile soon fell and transformed into a blank expression.

"This is Ino Yamanaka, managing editor and my stand-in. Ino, this is an associate and old acquaintance of mine, Sasuke Uchiha," Kakashi said professionally.

Sasuke's eyes focused on her immediately, and she could tell he was surprised to see her, but it only showed through the cool dark blue of his eyes. Ino reluctantly offered her hand for him to shake it and didn't miss the way his fingers brushed lightly across her knuckles when he began to draw back.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Uchiha," Ino forced out, a fake smile upon her lips.

"A pleasure to finally meet you face to face, Miss…Yamanaka," Sasuke murmured in a silky voice.

Ino inwardly grit her teeth, her eyes flashing in anger at his remark. She briefly wondered just _when_ Kakashi had met Sasuke. He'd called him an old acquaintance and that meant they knew each other for a while now.

Kakashi's voice broke the staring contest she had with the dark haired man. "And this is Karin, his wife," Kakashi continued, unaware of blandly ignoring the tension between the two. He motioned to an average looking woman standing behind him.

Her small red eyes and equally red hair stood out the most. An elegant pair of black glasses rested upon the bridge of her nose and contrasted with her pale skin. At the sound of her name, the woman smiled courteously and held out her hand towards Ino.

"I read you magazine religiously," she said excitedly.

_Intelligent and clear-headed, average looking, not the way I would've imagined you would pick your wife_, Ino thought inwardly he'd choose to bear heirs for the family fortune and name. The man was money and power, usually attracted the brainless bimbos. "Ino Yamanaka," she said with a smile, shaking her hand.

"I'm a really big fan of you and your magazine, and I really enjoyed the issue on winter fashion. I saw the most adorable handbags there! Also, would you be able to tell me where I can find a certain necklace I saw on one of the models in there? I've looked for it in various places, but... I... Sorry," she murmured, her cheeks colouring when she realized she was rambling. Sasuke was giving her an annoyed look as well.

"Well, I'm very flattered that you're a fan of my magazine. I'll have to look into making an issue on the wives of important business men in this city," Ino said, all professional.

Karin's warm, red eyes widened and she nervously pushed her smooth red hair behind her ear. "Oh, oh... but I'm not a model. I'm more of a business woman myself. I guess it's one of the things that attracted my husband first," she said, taking on a slightly smug tone.

Ino refrained from scoffing at her words. It had been more than likely a marriage of name and status, she mused. Sasuke's father wouldn't have let him marry for something as _insignificant _as love. "Right. We should have lunch so that I can hear all about your story. And I must point out that you have excellent taste in fashion," said Ino, watching Karin blush. Sasuke was still giving her a curious look, but he said nothing more to her.

"I'd really enjoy that," Karin said in a quiet voice, as if she were attempting to keep from squealing.

The blond handed over her card. "Contact my assistant at the office and she'll schedule a lunch date. We'll talk about that necklace you're looking for then. If you can, find pictures so that I can help you as best I can. In any case, it was very nice to meet you, Mrs. Uchiha," Ino said calmly.

"Please, it's just Karin," said the blonde woman rapidly, unable to hide her happiness.

"I hope you enjoy the show," Ino said with a nod before taking a seat and fiddling nervously with the hem of her dress. Kakashi took a seat next to her, and on his other side sat Sasuke. She could feel his eyes on her every time he turned to speak to Kakashi, but all she could do was attempt to ignore him.

"Know him?" Sakura whispered. She noticed the awkward shifting of her best friend, not to mention the wandering eyes of the extra guests Kakashi had invited to their party.

Ino just nodded. "From a past that I won't be able to forget," she replied just as quietly as her eyes focused on the runway when the lights began to dim. Might as well not think about it now. It would ruin an evening that had taken too much time, money, and work. Sasuke Uchiha would not come in to disrupt her life the way he had years ago. He was nothing but an unpleasant memory in her life now.

_**To be continued…**_

**A/N:** Faster than I thought it would come out, but as inu-babygirl1 said, it works therapeutic for me. I thank you all for the support, it really warms me that people I never personal met are so kind to help and try support me.

Helter Skelter: Really happy you liked it, this fic will definitely be completed probably will range around 20 to 30 chaps. And if Kakashi would eat his words? Hmm.. just keep reading to find out ;)

Yle: Glad you liked it.

Hope I got the terms of the business right, if not, please tell me and I correct it. Same with grammar and spellings, still don't master the language as much as I hoped, but from mistakes you can grow right? ^^


	3. Fashion show part two

**Winning you over**

Sai sipped his drink and shook off the unease creeping up on him. He knew his boss, the woman he spilled his coffee on, would be here tonight. He had been feeling a little anxious to see her and for the life of him couldn't figure out why.

Would she fire him?

Would she even remember who he was?

It wouldn't be like he would step up to her and say, 'Hi, I'm the new employee you hired, also the guy that spilled hot coffee over your blouse. About that, no hard feelings, right?' He sighed, annoyed, and took another sip of his coke and rum.

There was a tap on his shoulder and he turned, staring into a sunny smile and glittering brown eyes.

"I knew it was you," Tenten said cheerfully. She turned around momentarily, waving a couple over. As the two walked closer, Sai recognized the tall, blond male.

"Sai, this is my cousin in law, Hinata and her fiancé Naruto, you've surely met him already. Hinata, this is the handsome photographer I was telling you about."

Hinata giggled and extended her hand in greeting. "I'm Hinata, nice to meet you. I hope you know, Tenten hasn't shut up about you since you two met," she said with a serene sort of smile.

Tenten looked shocked, whilst Sai nearly choked on his drink. "It's a professional attraction," Tenten quickly explained. "I really loved seeing your work and I hope you think of tanking an internship with me once you have your degree," she offered.

After blotting away the spilled drink from his pants, Sai smiled gratefully. "Thank you for the opportunity. If it weren't for work, I would be willing to take it now."

"No problem at all, I can see you have talent." Her eyes grew slightly bigger then, before a passionate smile reached her face.

Sai followed her gaze to see her staring at a tall man with long, brown hair, tied up in an elegant ponytail. His body was covered in an dark designer suit which suited him perfectly. The man's stoic expression faded into a smile as his lavender eyes caught sight of Tenten.

"We'll talk later, then," Sai said with a smile, waving her off to go to her fiancé. Tenten smiled back, placing her hand on Sai's shoulder for a gentle squeeze before disappearing in the throng of party-goers. Taking a few more sips of his drink, he began to make his way around them, ignoring the offers of a drink or a dance.

As he rounded a particularly large, green plant, he nearly ran right into the person he was dreading to see again. Ino's eyes sparked as she recognized him as the coffee spiller from before.

"Hello," he blurted.

She gave him a dubious glance and then offered a hesitant smile. "Hi. You're the coffee guy, aren't you?" she asked.

Sai gave her an embarrassed look and nodded. "I'm sorry. I was a bit nervous that morning. I was on my way to a job interview," he said rapidly, amazed that the she had even understood his rushed words.

Ino had to smile. He was terribly cute, with big, ink-black eyes and short, black hair, not to mention he was dressed quite well. Black slacks and a well-tailored dress shirt, a shade lighter than his eyes, complimented his dark features nicely.

"I hope you got the job," she said pleasantly.

That solved the mystery of whether or not she knew who he truly was. Sai offered a small smile. "I did. Thank you." _And you can take it away too_, he thought anxiously, but decided to play it cool. It was then that he noticed what she was wearing and he couldn't help staring at her long, shapely legs. He cleared his throat and looked back towards the bar.

"Would you… join me for a drink?" The book of dating rules and manners quickly rushed back into his head.

Ino gave a look around, as if searching for someone, and then nodded, smiling at his offer. "Of course," she said, taking his arm.

Sai led them both towards the bar slowly, and he felt his hands begin to sweat a little as they took seats at the stools and ordered something to drink. "Listen, I'm very sorry about the coffee episode. I'm not usually that clumsy."

Her gaze was soft as she looked at him. "Nothing to worry about," she said, honestly. "Luckily for me, I always keep spare clothing in my office."

They lapsed into an awkward silence and Ino found herself inspecting the man in front of her. He was young, maybe her age, and handsome, but he seemed a bit nervous to be talking to her. She sighed inwardly; she supposed that being successful and the editor of a major magazine could intimidate some men from showing interest in her. She slowly realized, though, that there was something about him that screamed to her memories, something in her childhood. "I feel like I've met you before," she said.

Sai smirked. "If I knew you better, I'd be able to tell if that was a pick up line or not," he said casually.

She laughed and her cheeks coloured a little. "Isn't that what the girl usually tells a guy? But honestly, I feel like we've met before, a long time ago," Ino said thoughtfully, leaning towards him so that she could inspect his eyes up close.

Sai nodded, wondering what it was about her that was giving off that familiar vibe. There was something about her smile, and the kindness of her eyes that was holding his attention in a way that hadn't happened before. It was becoming increasingly easy to talk to her, despite the fact that she was his boss. "I get that feeling too. Where did you grow up?" he asked.

Ino's memories took her back to her hometown, some happy times at school before the whole ordeal made her leave, a time she wished to forget at that very moment. "I-… I'd rather not talk about that right now," she said, lightly touching his arm. "It's just not something that brings back good memories for me."

"I understand," Sai replied with a reassuring smile.

"You know, before we even start, we need to introduce ourselves. I don't know your name," Ino started, "or do you want me to call you 'coffee guy' forever?", she added with a hint of amusement.

Before he could say anything, pain exploded across his face and he heard Ino let out a gasp as he found himself on the ground, staring up at a man with angry brown eyes and equally brown hair. Ino turned a glare to the man who had attacked him, and Sai had a feeling that he had overstepped some kind of boundary with Ino, despite her being his boss.

Sai was on his feet in a second, but found himself pushed back by Ino's slim hands as she attempted to keep both him and the new intruder at bay.

"Shika, don't you dare hit him again," Ino hissed.

"He was touching you," Shikamaru nearly snarled.

"I was touching him," she replied through her teeth. "Don't cause a scene here or I will be forced to have security escort you out."

The taller man growled in anger. "The least you could've done was pick someone who could fight his own battles."

Sai's hands fisted in rage. He brushed past Ino and rammed his own fist into the other man's face before anyone could stop him. If there was one thing he hated, it was having someone else attempting to protect him. He had lived half of his life with Shin trying to protect him. In the end it even cost him his life. To see the life fading from his brother had been painful, and vowed from then on he wanted nothing more than to prove he could protect himself, that he wasn't weak. Shikamaru fell back against the bar stools, but quickly got back to his feet, unadulterated rage in his eyes.

"Please stop. I don't want to have to kick you both out," Ino said, turning to look at Sai with pleading eyes.

Sai clenched his jaw and was highly aware of the fact that his lip was split and bleeding. He turned to look at the man behind Ino and wondered if he was her boyfriend. The man was much taller than he was, chestnut brown hair pulled up in a ponytail, brown eyes, and the look of a person who regularly went to the gym. Still, Sai was confident that he could take him in a fist fight. He didn't feel like upsetting Ino, and the thought bothered him because he wasn't thinking of her as his boss anymore. He needed to separate things before he got in way over his head.

"Fine," he said in a low, dark voice. He turned to the bartender for a shot of liquor and left Ino to her man.

Kakashi approached Ino quickly, having been keeping an eye on her as she chatted with a black haired man at the bar. He had seen the entire thing transpire. Shikamaru, Ino's ex, had nearly stomped away from Neji and his two brothers when he had caught sight of Ino with another man. Kakashi had been on the move then, watching Ino attempt to diffuse the situation before the press approached and decided to film what had been happening right at their backs. Scandals would not bode the company well at such an important party.

"What's the problem?" he asked, eyeing Shikamaru in challenge.

Ino shook her head. "Nothing. Shikamaru was about to leave after the little stunt he pulled. Weren't you, Shika?" she asked in a steely voice.

Shikamaru's brown eyes narrowed into slits as he grabbed her arm. As Kakashi began to react, Ino waved him away and allowed Shikamaru to pull her away from the bar to a more secluded area. "What the hell was that? We haven't even been broken up for a week and you're already hitting up another man," he hissed.

Ino scoffed and looked at him incredulously. "The fact that I was talking to him doesn't mean I'm trying to get into his pants! I'm not you," Ino retorted angrily. "And besides, you're the one who cheated on me! How dare you do this to me. We're over, get that into your stupid little head of yours."

Shikamaru shook his head. "I won't have that argument with you again," he said, looking away from her.

"Then stop acting like you're still my boyfriend," Ino said quietly. "I'm sorry you're hurt, but we're over. You have no right to attack innocent bystanders. Your jealousy, lies, and your inability to control your anger are what drove us to our break-up. Your cheating was the last straw. I hope this is the last we see of each other," Ino said before turning and walking away from him.

Kakashi was waiting for her by the bar, a serious look on his face. "Well?"

Ino shrugged. "He seems to think that we're still together. The nerves of that man." She turned to look around for the man she had been talking to and realized she hadn't even gotten his name. Now he was gone. "We're lucky the press was focused on what the celebrities were doing," she whispered.

Kakashi nodded. "Take care of yourself, Ino. I know you're physically capable of defending yourself, but we both know that Shikamaru is nearly a foot taller than you, and it worries me that he doesn't seem to accept that fact that you're through with him."

She nodded and offered him a wan smile. "Thanks for not telling me you'd kick his ass if he hurt me. I'm completely capable of doing that myself," she said.

His mismatched eyes gave her a shrewd look. "You do know that it goes without saying that I will, right? I'm your uncle and it's up to me to protect you whether you're okay with it or not," said Kakashi seriously. "I promised your father that I would. Otherwise it would be me needing protection," he murmured.

"I understand," she said, smiling and wrapping an arm around his waist for a sideways hug.

"Ah, what I wouldn't give for a camera right now," said someone from behind them. Both turned to look at the voice to see a female slightly taller than Ino with big blonde ponytails, and brilliant honey eyes. "I must say though, I do have the most attractive family members in the world."

Kakashi snorted and turned away while Ino giggled. "I didn't think you would make it in time for the party," Ino said.

"I'll be there when there's sake," Tsunade answered truthfully, ignoring the disapproving look her nephew was shooting her. "Besides, since my dearest godchild won't show up on our dinner dates, one must come to her, no?"

Her honey eyes searched the room, but failed to spot a certain pink-haired someone. She sighed, before she turned to the two in front of them. "You've done a wonderful job with the setup."

"You can't give me all the credit. Kakashi helped a lot, though I bet he would've preferred to stay at home drinking tea and reading his book with his bifocals on," Ino said with a smirk.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed in annoyance. Was she implying he was _old_? He wasn't even forty yet! "Well forgive me for preferring a peaceful night to one that almost always ends up in a hangover," he countered.

Ino gave poked him in his side with her elbow before she hooked her arm with Tsunade's. "Why don't you come along and meet some of the representatives of our sponsors. I'm sure they'd like to meet the boss of this badass empire."

Kakashi shook his head and watched his family walk away before he moved to the bar to order a glass of wine. He was leaning with his back against the counter, savouring his drink, and watching Anko mingle from far away when a familiar, irksome presence caught his eye.

He noted that Sakura looked quite different tonight, with a dress that revealed way too much to his eyes. His eyes traced the line of her leg, accentuated by the slit in her dress and high black stilettos that made her at least four inches taller than her normal stature. What bothered him the most was the fact that she hadn't even bothered to say hello to him or even look at him the moment she had arrived. Currently, Sakura's attention was on her on-and-off again lover. The man with messy, spiked brow hair, tattooed face, and a slightly fanged smile. They were laughing about something and Kakashi couldn't explain why, but their laughter was grating on his nerves.

He was in love with Anko, his beautiful Anko; he shouldn't be watching anyone but her. He gulped down his wine and ordered another while he inwardly beat himself up. He turned to look at his girlfriend and watched her smile and pose with her fellow models for the camera and answer the questions of the reporters. Inevitably, his eyes slid back to Sakura, who was now standing alone, overlooking the party and finishing off a glass of champagne. _ Damnit, I did it again!_

**xXx**

Sakura turned towards the bar and spotted him there, blatantly watching her. She cocked her head to the side slightly before excusing herself from her conversation and walking over to the bar. She didn't know how to interpret the look Kakashi was giving her, but it wasn't the usual bored or annoyed look he reserved for her. She didn't know why she found the man so alluring, especially after he had started to ignore her passes at him, chalking it up to her age or to her lack of maturity. The fact of the matter was that Kakashi was an attractive man and she wasn't all too willing to give up on him yet, despite the excess baggage that came in the form of his girlfriend.

Sakura knew that Anko didn't appreciate him and that she really wasn't taking him seriously. It didn't take a genius to see that all Anko wanted to do was enjoy her fame and her youth. Kakashi wasn't an old man, but he couldn't see that Sakura was more than willing to be by his side, even at her young age. If there was ever a man she had wanted more than was normal–or healthy, for that matter-it was Kakashi Hatake.

As she reached the bar, she motioned for the bartender to pour her another glass of champagne. Might as well allow Kakashi to believe that she had lost interest in him for now. If there was one thing she had learned from Kiba, it was that men hated to be ignored. Sakura bit her lower lip when she felt his gaze on her, no matter if it was a sideways glance. She received her glass and turned fully to look at him.

"It turned out rather well, didn't it?" she asked conversationally.

Kakashi gave her an uninterested look and nodded once. "It did," he replied simply.

Sakura made a slight humming noise and then shook her head before walking away, slowly swaying her hips. She was aware that his eyes were following her movement. It made her feel a little smug to see that for all that he acted as if she were nothing more than a pain, he still couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

Hmm, maybe drawing him away from his infatuation with Anko wouldn't be as hard as she had initially thought. It was devious and wrong, but Sakura Haruno wasn't someone who usually backed away from what she wanted. Passing some of the jungle-themed décor, she caught sight of Anko posing with her fellow models once more. Nothing seemed amiss at first sight, except the man standing to her left seemed to have misplaced his hand and it was now on Anko's ass.

Sakura rolled her eyes to herself and shook her head. "Two-timing hussy," she muttered under her breath.

"I hope you weren't talking about me," said Ino as she came up behind her.

"Look," Sakura said, motioning towards Anko.

Ino turned and then narrowed her eyes. "It's not like he's grabbing her ass. His hand is on the small of her back," she pointed out.

"It wasn't there a minute ago." Sakura huffed. "Do you really want her as your aunt-in-law, or wouldn't you prefer lil' ol' me?"

"Is that a trick question?" Ino seemed to think about it for a few seconds until she snickered at Sakura's peeved expression. "Of course I would prefer you. We've been best friends the moment you moved in with Tsunade."

"But…?" Sakura prompted.

"You can't force it. Kakashi is completely in love with Anko and she hasn't really done anything to hurt him. My dislike for her is more than likely a projection from you, I think. You know… I haven't seen her do anything that should make me question her feelings for Kakashi."

Sakura let out a long breath and then nodded. "But… you wouldn't be opposed if, say, I went after him anyway?"

"You want to turn my uncle, who I view as a big brother, into a cheater?" Ino asked, eyes narrowed.

Sakura peered at her nervously. "I'll… make sure he breaks up with her first. I'd have to, you know, worm my way into his life."

"So… you're asking me permission to pursue Kakashi, who has a steady girlfriend, and you want me to be on your side after you sabotage his relationship with her?"

"Yeah, that's about it," Sakura replied, nibbling on her lower lip.

Ino stared at her for a long moment, until Sakura began to fidget, and then sighed. "You really want to be with him or is this some sort of whim? A challenge?"

Sakura shook her head and her eyes strayed towards Kakashi, who was placing his wine glass to his masked lips and was still gazing at her from above the rim. She had to slap away the fluttering butterflies and the silly grin that threatened to overcome her features. She turned back to Ino and shook her head.

" I think… no, I know he's the one, even though I know he sometimes sees me like I'm gum stuck onto his expensive shoes. I can promise you that soon enough he'll see me differently."

"Fine," Ino said quietly. "But, Sakura… promise me you won't hurt him, or get hurt yourself."

"I won't," Sakura assured her. Never, ever in a million years would she hurt the man she loved.

**xXx**

The following Monday was full of meetings and supervising the next issue of the magazine. Sakura would be out of the office, handling her PR business for the company at various places, and Ino knew that they wouldn't be able to share lunch together.

Her phone beeped, bringing Ino out of her thoughts as she enjoyed her latte break, and she pressed a button on the intercom to answer. "Yes, Moegi?"

"Miss, Sasuke Uchiha is here to see you and he's not taking 'no' for an answer. Even after I explained that you're extremely busy," said her assistant nervously.

Ino let her head drop onto her hand before she let out a long breath. "Okay, Moegi, send him in."

She braced herself for her confrontation with Sasuke. She would exchange pleasantries, try to be polite, and hopefully get him out of her office before she blew up on him.

She busied herself with putting away important documents into their portfolios when she heard the door open and he walked in slowly, taking his sweet time, looking as if he owned the world.

"Good morning," he said in a suave tone, dressed impeccably in a white suit.

Ino bit back a scoff and looked at him coolly. "It is. How can I help you, Mr. Uchiha?"

"Oh, don't be that way. We go way back, you and I, and once upon a time we could've been more," he said, taking a seat without invitation. His dark blue eyes watched her every move intently.

Ino's pleasant smile tightened in slow, burning anger. "Did you come see me with the express idea to dredge up a past I'd rather forget? Because if you did, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I don't have time for this."

His own smug smile seemed to turn a little more fake. "There's nothing left of that sweet country girl I met when I was sixteen, is there?"

Ino surged to her feet; so much for being polite and pleasant. "I was fifteen and naïve. You walked into my life only to tear it apart, Sasuke. It took me years to put the pieces back together," she hissed, losing her composure. "I have no interest in reacquainting myself with you. I have no interest in married men either. I need you to leave, now," she said, making a sweeping hand gesture towards the door as she walked towards it, presumably to open it for him.

Sasuke stood and followed her in quick strides. He grabbed her arm tightly, but not painfully, and turned her around quickly to face him. "Don't try to be the victim here, when we both know that it was all your fault. You turned my life into hell," he hissed, his eyes like dark blue fire in a handsome face. His dark hair fell over one of his eyes. "I know we were still children, but I loved you and you—"

She couldn't wrap her mind around what he was saying to her. "Don't you dare talk to me about love, not after you left!"

"I left because you wanted me to," he said darkly, watching her eyes—colder than he remembered them—turn hard like granite.

"You left because you were a coward," Ino said in a low tone, snatching her arm from his grip.

He tensed in fury. "I'm married and you're not. What does that say about you? There's no other man in your life and there really hasn't been one in a long time," he said smugly. "We can't very much count all of those little trysts you've had now and then with those random men."

"What, have you been investigating me?" Ino asked, resisting the urge to slap him for his audacity to think that he had any right to give an opinion about her love life.

"I guess it pays to be a rich boy," Sasuke said in a mocking tone. "Are you going to tell me why you haven't been able to keep a serious relationship?"

"What makes you think I don't have a serious relationship? You may have all the money in the world to invade my privacy, but that doesn't mean that all the information you've gathered is the truth," Ino said disdainfully.

Sasuke regained his cool demeanour and gave her a shrewd look. "So, you're trying to tell me that my sources are wrong and that you do have a new boyfriend?" he asked condescendingly.

Ino grit her teeth. The fact that Sasuke was so sure that she didn't have a man in her life meant that he knew that she and Shikamaru had broken up.

"Why don't you stop with the whole angry charade and admit that I'm the one you've been waiting for?"

She was perilously close to slugging him, forgetting momentarily that her magazine needed to keep up a strictly professional appearance and that she was supposed to act like a mature woman. Well, she also had to think about Tsunade and Kakashi, they had both worked hard to bring up the company to the empire it was now.

"He's not my boyfriend, per se. We're just now starting to date, you see," Ino said. Even to her own ears she sounded insecure.

The look he was giving her was amused and haughty all at the same time. He parted his lips to mock her just as there was a knock at the door and the black-haired coffee-spiller stepped into her office, a messenger bag slung on sideways. The young man paused and looked at the them both.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were busy. I'll come back," Sai said, turning to close the door.

"Wait!" she called, walking quickly towards him.

He gave her a hesitant look as she raced towards him—more than likely looking a little crazy—and caught his hand in hers. "Please follow along," she said under her breath.

The man gave her an even more confused look followed by a hesitant nod.

Ino turned to back to Sasuke and smirked.

"I'm dating him," she said triumphantly.

_**To be continued..**_

Answering reviews:

Helter Skelter: The history behind Sakura and her achievements will come along in the story don't know which chapter but soon. But one thing about Sakura though is that she is already at the top of her career. I'm spoiling this already a bit for the future chapters but isn't a major one: Sakura is one of the well-known and most successful PR in the business and highly requested. Next to Fire Style she works with lots of other companies, celebrities and alike. They all want her to handle their publicity. So in that part, she is as high on her career ladder as she can be.

Starsonfire24: I'm glad you like the story so far, it always give the writer and ego boast whenever a reader says that and it helps us remembering why we're writing in the first place. I hope this lil' chap on seeing more of Kiba and Shikamaru. I tell you know already though, that Shika has a really small part in this story, but Kiba will come around more often.

Ilygodot: You'll find out what Sasuke did later on in the story ;) You just have to keep reading to find out =3


	4. An improvement

**Winning you over**

Sai blinked confused. Did he just hear that right? Since when was one drink at the bar and getting punched equalled with a dating a person? He opened his mouth to ratify the situation when a squeeze in his hand kept him silent.

Sasuke on the other hand snorted amused. "Ino, you truly amuse me, darling."

Sai gritted his teeth at his mocking tone. Who the hell was this guy? "What's so funny about us dating?"

His cold eyes turned towards him, a vile smirk showed on his handsome features as he spoke. "This woman that you're _dating_ always fell for men with money. She's _always_ dated for money, and she always will."

Sai stiffened at that. Could the rumours he heard about this woman be true after all? He knew you shouldn't always believe what you read in tabloids, but this was coming from a man that assumingly had a past with his boss. If what the blue-haired man was saying was true, did that mean that a woman like Ino would never go for a man like himself?

Ino's hands fisted angrily. "You know nothing about me, Sasuke! I'm not the girl I once was," she bit out. "But I suppose a leech like you would need proof before you can leave my office in peace?"

"Proof?" Sai muttered confused.

He was startled when a soft, feminine hand caressed his cheek as she softly directed him to look at her. Her pleading blue eyes stared at him and not long after that Sai realized her intention. Before Sai could do anything against it, her soft lips came in contact with his own.

He stood rigid as her lips moved against his still ones, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now. He felt the hand that had been caressing his cheek move over his jawline towards the back of his head, her other hand going to his back to pull him closer. Awkwardly, he placed his own hands on her hips, kissing her back. She tasted like cinnamon and coffee. He felt her lean more towards him and a spark of excitement went through him.

"Enough!" Sasuke snarled, clearly not amused. "I get the point."

Sai was happy to see that she was reluctant to draw away from him, her lips a bit bruised and her eyes dazed as she glanced up at him. He liked that look on her. She slowly released Sai from the hold she had him in and stepped back and turned to the other male in the room.

"Don't _ever_ presume you know anything about me. We're not the children we once were, Sasuke. You're married, and I do with my life as I please. Now, please be so kind to remove yourself from my office, I have things to do today," Ino said with venom, motioning towards the door.

Sasuke sneered at Sai as he approached the door. "Pathetic, dating your messenger boy. I wonder how long this toy will last before you get sick of him," he said in a mocking tone before he walked out of the door, still looking as if he was worth millions of yen.

Ino let out a long sigh, rubbing her forehead as she felt a headache coming along. She strode to her desk, and seated herself in her chair.

She was startled when the door closed with a soft click, her blue eyes meeting the confused ones of her employee. She momentarily forgot that Sai was still in the room with her. "I'm really sorry I dragged you in something completely immature and inappropriate," Ino said quickly, flushing in embarrassment.

Sai stared at her, before he shrugged. That man had been a jerk and with her actions she put a married man into place. Besides, getting kissed by a beautiful woman isn't really that much of a problem in his book. "I guess it's part of the job. I got to do what the boss asks of me."

Ino choked, her cheeks flushed a shade brighter. "I literally assaulted you, you could accuse me of sexual harassment and you'll be justified in doing so. It's just that Sasuke… he riled me up and I wanted to make him swallow his own words…"

Sai coughed, feeling uncomfortable. "You had some things for me to deliver?" He asked instead, preferring to change the subject.

Ino seemed to snap out of her stupor and nodded. "Yes, there are some things that need to be taken to our printer, that's first priority. After that, there are some photographs I needed picked up from ANBU Model Agency offices here. You can ask Moegi for the addresses."

Sai nodded and grabbed the envelopes she had prepared for him. "I'll get right on it."

He turned around and headed for the door, but stopped when her voice reached his ears.

"Sai?"

Sai stopped; confused that she even knew his name when until now she didn't even know she hired him. He turned around.

"I'm sorry it took me this long to finally meet you. Let me welcome you officially to _Fire Style_. I assure you, I'm not normally an assaulting type," Ino said with a wink and a smile.

Sai found it hard to keep telling himself she was his boss and off limits. Especially when she kept smiling at him that way. "Thank you."

He was ready to leave when she stopped him once more. "Listen, how about… to make up for you getting punched by my ex, then get sneered at by my other ex, as well getting assaulted by me, we go catch lunch today? My treat?"

Sai swallowed heavily. Was he even allowed to say no to his boss? He needed this job badly to pay for his expenses. "I think that sounds good," He said after a moment, catching her expectant gaze.

"Great," Ino beamed. She plucked a card of her desk and handed it over. "In case you're running late, give me a call. I'll be waiting in the restaurant across the street at noon."

Sai nodded as he tucked her card into his pocket. "I'll try to have everything done by then, Miss Yamanaka," he said confidently.

"Have a good morning," He said before he finally walked out of the office. He pushed the button for the elevator and took a deep breath to calm his mind. Definitely a crazy start to the day.

**xXx**

The day definitely didn't start well for Sakura. Her head was killing her with the hangover from the night before, and she wasn't even in her own apartment. She realized that the moment she came back to consciousness. Kiba's apartment always smelled musky, definitely masculine and a hint of dog.

She pushed the arm that was wrapped around her naked waist off her, and sat up in bed. She groaned, annoyed, and peeked at the alarm clock at the side. Damn, this was the second time this month she would be turning up late at work.

With a sigh she stepped out of bed, grabbing her clothes that were scattered around the room and headed towards the bathroom. She didn't bother to hide her naked form. She knew Kiba would be out until somewhere at the afternoon at his earliest, and his apartment was always well-sheltered against press. Kiba didn't mind pictures being taken of him when he was out in public, but he wanted to be left alone in his apartment.

She turned the shower on, grabbing a towel and wash cloth from the shelf at the other side. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and groaned out loud. She looked like a mess. She ran a hand through her hair, lowering her eyes to the ground as she stepped into the shower.

Last night really didn't go as planned. Seeing Kakashi kissing his girlfriend and then pulled away from the party snapped something inside of her. And once again she ended up in Kiba's arms after drinking away the sting of rejection. At least one pair of warm arms always welcomed her back in his embrace... But this wasn't what she wanted. She wanted Kakashi to be the one to make her feel better.

She quickly scrubbed herself clean and towelled herself dry when she was done. She opened the cabinet above the sink, grabbing the make-up supplies lying in there. Bless Kiba to always have some lying around. Quickly making herself presentable she grabbed an aspirin and plopped it into her mouth.

Moving to the living room, she took the two wine glasses from the table and placed them into the sink. Grabbing the note pad that lay there she quickly wrote a message and placed it upon the fridge. Now that she was all done, she grabbed her belongings and moved to the front door, giving Akamaru a quick scratch behind the ear before she exited the apartment.

She grabbed her phone from her pocket and quickly texted Naruto to pick her up. She only had to wait for five minutes when a black sleek car pulled in and a door opened open. She stepped in, and thanked Naruto as he handed her a double espresso and a bagel. The blond closed the doors and nodded at the driver to ride back to the office, his blue eyes watching her, concerned, as she nibbled on her bagel.

Sakura sighed, but was glad that Naruto refrained from asking questions. She really didn't want to deal with this right now. The ride back was silent, and Sakura tried to ignore the questioning looks Naruto kept shooting her. She wondered when he would finally give up and just blurt out his questions.

They stopped at the front entrance, Naruto stepping out first before helping Sakura out of the car. Together they walked towards the elevator, and only when the doors closed and they slowly rode upwards did Naruto talk.

"What happened, Sakura? I thought you promised me you wouldn't do this."

Sakura shook her head, her emerald eyes averting her gaze. "I know I promised. But I can't help it when I see _him_ walking off with her."

She looked vulnerable at the moment, her eyes shining with unshed tears. But then, Sakura took a deep breath and when her emerald eyes opened again, her face was void of all emotion and back in control.

"It was just a minor slip up, nothing more." The door slid open and Sakura marched out to signal this conversation was over. She didn't need to look back to know Naruto followed her back into the office. She choose to ignore it and instead walked to the closet with spare clothes.

"There's nothing in there Sakura, all of your spare clothes are at the dry-cleaners. They'll be done around three today."

Sakura groaned, closing the doors with a thud, and hit her head against the dark oak. "Great, just great."

"Sakura…"

Sakura ignored him, preferring to keep on hitting herself with the closet door.

"Sakura, please stop that." His hand touched her shoulder and made her look at him. The blue eyes looked at her with worry, before he pulled her into an embrace.

"You need to stop doing this to yourself Sakura. You're not made of stone. One day you'll get hurt and I don't want to be the one to pick up all the pieces again. Remember what happened before?"

Sakura nodded, leaning against him and closed her eyes. "You know I do... I'll try."

The office door swung open then and Ino stood in the entrance. "Sakura I need your -," she stopped talking then, her blue eyes surprised to see her in yesterday's night outfit.

"I'll go back to work," Naruto muttered and gave Sakura a reassuring smile. "I'll pick up your clothes from the dry-cleaner when they're done."

"Thank you Naruto," Sakura replied, turning her attention to her friend.

Ino waited for Naruto to close the door behind her before she started to talk.

"Sakura, what did you do?"

Sakura groaned, throwing herself on the couch. "Something really stupid, Ino."

"I can see that, you're still in your clothes from last night. I wondered why your car was parked here and you weren't around. Who'd you leave with?"

Ino sat down at the chair opposite of the couch, watching as Sakura turned her head to face her.

"Kiba," Sakura muttered.

"Why?" Ino replied shocked. "You know he doesn't do relationships Sakura! And what about Kakashi?"

"I know!" Sakura snapped back. "I know damn well I'm only a booty call for him. And it's because of Kakashi I ended up in bed with him. I drank too much when I saw him leave with that bitch and Kiba was there to pick me up. I just needed to feel loved, cherished, even if that is just a lie."

"Oh Sakura," Ino said, watching as emerald eyes started to shine with unshed tears. She stood up from her spot and sat down next to Sakura to pull her in an embrace. It hurt to see Sakura so miserable. Sakura had fallen deep, and right now she hoped Kakashi wouldn't end up hurting Sakura.

Even if she acted all tough and secure, deep inside it was a fragile little girl that wanted her prince charming. Because if Kakashi choose Anko in the end after all this, Sakura might not survive that heartbreak.

"Enough about me. What was it that made you charge into my office as if the building was on fire?" Sakura asked weakly.

Ino sighed and started to tell her everything what happened while she was away. Sakura nodded in understanding and watched as Ino started to pace around in her office.

"So you kissed Sai huh? Was he good?"

"Excellent and we didn't even go to French kissing," Ino prompted. The girls eyes met and both started laughing. Ino nudged Sakura over and sat down beside her.

"Oh Sakura, what should I do now?"

"Well, since Sai played along this time, maybe he's willing to pretend to date you for a while. Just long enough to get Sasuke of your back. You'll go on a couple of dates, and break up a few months later so it doesn't evolve into a scandal."

"Hmm, I really don't want to use him like that," Ino answered, her eyes tapping at the side of the couch. "But I don't see any other option either. I'm willing to bet my life that Sasuke isn't done with messing into my life for now. And now I've said I'm dating Sai, I really can't go back; otherwise he knows I was lying."

"Well you better come up with a plan fast," Sakura brought her out of her thoughts. She pointed at the clock hanging in her office. "Your lunch date will start soon."

Ino nodded and stood up. "I'll let you know what happened."

Sakura stood and moved to her desk as Ino exited her office, glancing down at her laptop that showed several emails waiting for her attention. She had been working for an hour or so when her office door opened.

She didn't look up from her screen as she continued working. "Never heard of knocking?"

Her question was met with silence, and when she was done typing her sentence, she glanced up to see Kakashi standing frozen in the opening.

He looked shocked, maybe even surprised as his eyes roamed over her figure. But when his head connected that it was the same outfit of the night before, his gaze turned into disapproval.

"You were late, again," He snapped. He closed the door behind her and leaned against it, shutting out her only exit.

Sakura closed her laptop with an audible click, her eyes focusing on the man before her. He didn't look pleased at all. Was it because he was jealous that she went home with another man or was it simply because she was late?

"I'm sorry, I had a rough night." She stood from her spot, preferring the edge from her desk at the moment. "What can I do for you?" Sakura asked casually. She carefully studied him as his eyes narrowed even further in anger. So it wasn't that she was late after all.

"Don't change the subject, Sakura," he nearly growled.

"What subject? It's none of your business what I do in my spare time. And I already told you why I was late, so what is it really what you wanted to discuss?"

He opened his mouth to retort, when the door behind him opened. He closed his mouth as he turned his head to look over his shoulder to see Kiba standing behind him.

He greeted him lazily before he pushed him out of the way to walk into Sakura's office as if he belonged there. His hair was still ruffled from the night before and smirked to see Sakura's surprise to his visit.

"Love, you forgot you wallet and keys at my place." He placed said items on her desk while he kissed her on the cheek. A self-satisfied smirk reached his lips as he felt the murdering gaze on his back, as he stepped back. "I'm leaving tomorrow for a photo-shoot in Suna, can you look after Akamaru for me?"

Sakura nodded. "Of course I will, I always do."

"Great, I'll see you around then." With a wink Kiba exited the office, giving a mock salute to Kakashi as he passed by and whistling as he walked into the direction of the elevator.

Sakura swallowed heavily, watching Kakashi turn his head back to her.

"Kiba?" Kakashi spat out. "You slept with Kiba?"

"Like I said," Sakura shrugged. "It's none of your business what I do in my free time. Besides, weren't you who said I needed to get a personal life in the first place?"

"Not with that man-slut!" Kakashi growled in anger. "He doesn't deserve you."

"We're just friends Kakashi," the salmon haired girl responded. "What is it you wanted from me?"

"Tsunade wants to have dinner tonight, and no backing out either this time. Now-,"

"Anything else?" Sakura interrupted him. The jealously Kakashi was showing was entertaining, but it started to get old. Naruto would soon be back with her clothes and she needed to get some work done before then. Especially since her evening would be filled with Tsunade questioning her all night long. "Work related, that is," she quickly added when she noticed he was trying to bring the other subject back up again.

He closed his eyes in frustration before he muttered out a no, there wasn't anything else. "Good," Sakura beamed, standing up and moving to sit back into her chair. She averted her gaze back to her laptop as she pulled up her screen and concentrated on her work. "You can let yourself out, Kakashi. There are a lot of things I need to arrange before the dinner," she said without looking at him.

She tried to hold in her laughter when he marched out of her office, his stance stiff and filled with tension. Naruto glanced at him worriedly as he passed by, entering Sakura's office.

"What happened?" he asked as he turned his blue eyes to Sakura.

Sakura simply chuckled; taking the clothes Naruto handed her over and walked towards the attached bathroom.

"An improvement, that's what happened," Sakura giggled.

_**To be continued…**_

**A/N:** I wish you all a happy new year!

Special thanks to Aweg.


	5. dinner

With a resigned sigh, Sakura closed her laptop and readied herself for the upcoming dinner. She grabbed her little black dress along with her purse and keys and moved to the elevators. Thank Kami that she had an excuse to leave now should it get too uncomfortable for her. Akamaru would be waiting, and even Tsunade knew her love for animals. It would be a good enough reason in her eyes.

She pushed the black button, her thoughts wondering off to her best friend as she waited. She hadn't heard anything yet about her little lunch date. Did it end well? Or would she get more work on her hands if it turned into a scandal? The reputation of Fire Style was in her hands after all. Curious, she grabbed her phone, texting the blond on her mind before closing the sleek metal with a snap.

The elevator tinged as the door slid open. Some people already standing in the small box nodded at her as a greeting which Sakura happily returned. She prayed desperately that this night would soon end. She knew for one that Kakashi was already gone, having gone to the airport to pick **her** up.

With a shake of her head, her mood now even more grim than before she moved towards her car in the garage. She opened the door to the back seat, throwing in her dress before sitting in the driver's seat. Putting on her seatbelt and turning on the radio, she decided to take the long route to her godmother's house. Kami knows she would need it.

**xXx**

Sai paced around in his studio apartment, listening to music through his earplugs and trying to cool down after going through his usual routine of lifting weights and taking a four mile run before showering and going to bed. His homework for tonight was done, and he had a series of images he had snapped developing in the darkroom.

But for once, the photos and art weren't on his mind at the moment. Ino Yamanaka, his boss, had propositioned him. Not in an indecent way, of course, but in a way that had taken him completely by surprise. Despite the heavy rock music blasting away in his ears, Ino's words were echoing in his head.

_"What is this about?" Sai asked her with curiosity as they began to eat their ordered meals._

_"I need a boyfriend."_

_At first he thought her reply had been joke, and he wondered what he had to do with that. Was he supposed to laugh? Comment about it? He didn't think so, if the serious look on her face was any indication. _

_"…Okay," he replied slowly, puzzled._

_"I want you to be that boyfriend."_

_He felt himself flush at the endearing, yet seductive look on her face. Was she batting her eyelashes a little? "I don't think I'm catching on," he said faintly._

_Ino laughed nervously. "It would be strictly professional. I need a boyfriend only in name and appearance. It will get Sasuke off my back. He seems to think that he has me figured out, and I don't like that. All we'd have to do is be seen in public a few times a week and I would pay you rather well _

_for it."_

_Sai was aware that he still had a highly confused look on his face. He maybe even resembled a fish a bit; he was certainly floundering around when it came to the woman in front of him. "Okay, so you are telling me that you would like to hire me to be your fake boyfriend? That we only need to be seen in public together but that there won't be a relationship between us?"_

_Ino nodded, a little relieved that he understood. "Exactly that. Now, if you have a girlfriend already, or are in a serious relationship with someone, you can let me know. I will take back my offer and I will back off," she said._

_There was a long silence until Sai shook his head. "I don't think I'd be able to make a convincing fake boyfriend," he admitted. "Never been much of an actor. And besides, I don't think I would be able to take you to the places you're used to."_

_Ino's expression closed off and Sai wondered what he had said to get her angry. "Contrary to popular belief, Mr. Root, I didn't grow up as a pampered princess. I was born in a small town, and I worked through my teenage years. I'm not asking for extravagance. All I'd want is to go to a movie, have you accompany me to a few events for the magazine, and maybe even to grab dinner at a pizza place or something of the like," she replied tartly._

_Sai pondered it for a moment. "I'm not seeing anyone seriously right now, but with all due respect, how is this going to shut Sasuke up if you're going to 'date' me for a few weeks and then dump me?"_

_Ino seemed to think it through. "Well, I need for Sasuke to get the idea that I'm not single now. I need him to stay away from me at this moment. I know I am asking for a lot from you, especially with you _

_assisting school and I'll more than likely impede in your personal life, but I would pay you two thousand yen a week for your services."_

_"That's eight thousand yen a month," said Sai, as calmly as he could._

_Ino nodded. "That should be more than enough for you to take me somewhere nice—nothing fancy or expensive—and the rest would be yours to spend as you wish," she said, her tone full of professionalism._

_Sai sat back with a startled look on his face. Was she really asking him to play the role of a boyfriend to placate her father and tell off Sasuke? Well, he certainly had disliked the Uchiha from the very first time he had seen him. Ino didn't want a relationship, she said so herself, she only wanted someone to put up the appearance of them being interested in each other seriously._

_"You don't have to say anything now. Think about it and then give me your answer by the end of the week. I know we don't know each other, but that's the whole point of this. We don't have to know each other. It's a charade, a game to play to appease some people and prove others wrong about me."_

_They ate their meal in silence until Ino looked at her watch. "Take your time and if you decide not to take my offer, don't fear for the job you already hold. I won't fire you if you say no. I have to return to my office now, but please think about it," she said, standing. "Also, I really have to stress that you not comment this with anyone."_

_"I won't," Sai assured her, standing as well. "I will give you my answer by the end of the week."_

_Ino nodded and offered him a beautiful smile. Sai didn't know whether to take it as a simple gesture or as a way for her to try to convince him to accept. As they stood outside of the restaurant, Sai watched her go, the sun shining on her long, silky hair, and caressing her pale skin to create a rosy hue on her cheeks. Would it really be such a bad thing to play her boyfriend?_

Releasing a small huff, Sai gathered his resolve and grabbed his phone to dial Ino's personal number. The week had gone by and his time had run out to think over her proposal. He only had to wait a few moment until she picked up.

"This is Ino, " she said calmly.

"Sai, " he said simply.

"How can I help you Sai?" There was amusement in her tone.

"I have an answer. Are you busy? " He asked.

She gave a small hum. " No, I was about to pack up my things and go home. Where do you want to meet? "

"There is a bar near my place. It's not too shabby, though it's not high class either. We can meet there in thirty minutes, " Sai proposed.

"Sounds fine, give me the address and I'll be there. "

Sai rattled off the directions before they hung up. He dashed towards the bathroom to take a quick shower and then dress before making his way to the bar. His thoughts once more on his decision.

If he was honest with himself, he needed the money. He wanted the Jinchuuri camera that he had seen Tenten carrying around, and he was also in the process of saving up for a trip he wanted to take around the world. The images taken on the trip would serve to make a photojournalism type of book. He wanted to take the trip before settling to work at a good place if it was possible.

And, well, he couldn't also leave out the fact that Ino was a gorgeous woman and some immature, male part of him was more than happy to be in her presence and to have everyone assume that someone like her would be interested in him. It was a petty reason, but he'd rarely allowed himself some time to indulge in inane things since his brother had died. It was about time he had a bit of fun with his life and he didn't have to worry about the consequences. He had to admit though, that there was a big part of him telling him that this could potentially backfire. He decided to tell his brain to kindly shut-up and mind its own business.

**xXx**

The evening breeze brushing against her was the welcoming sensation after the horrible entrance. Like she expected, Kakashi and Anko were already there. Tsunade was busy entertaining her guests, pouring another round of her favourite drink in their cups when Sakura announced her presence. The woman turned around rapidly, bellowing over that it was bloody time she'd come and give the poor woman a visit. She then stated bodily that she needed to take more care of herself because she looked like a zombie. Anko laughed, grinning at the young girl as she waved her greeting. Sakura merely gritted her teeth, desperately trying to fight the urge to simply turn around and leave. She

wondered briefly why she shouldn't do just that, but then Tsunade grasped her arm and hauled her towards the couch. She had hoped that at least that Ino would come and keep her sane this evening, but she called off an half hour ago saying she had some other things to take care of.

After taking in another round of insults of her appearance and why she still didn't have a boyfriend, Sakura calmly asked when the dinner would start. Immediately Tsunade announced that her beloved godchild was right and moved into the kitchen, taking the full bottle of sake with her. After that she excused herself, taking refuge on the balcony.

Tsunade lived in a penthouse suite in the hotel she owned. The view was fantastic, looking out all over Konoha till her borders. It calmed Sakura somewhat and with a tired sigh she closed her eyes. She twirled her drink in her hand, inhaling the nights scent and temptations. She would stay only for two more hours before she'd leave. That would be long enough to appease her godmother for a while.

She opened her eyes warily when she heard the door slide open behind her, and briefly hoped that Kakashi had come and joined her. But when she glanced behind her to see who her guest was, she was left disappointed.

"What do you want? " Sakura nearly growled.

Anko shrugged, sipping on her own drink as she came to stand next to the pink haired woman. "I wanted to see how you were doing. We haven't spoken much at all. "

Sakura huffed, trying to control the anger she felt boiling beneath her skin. " And why should we speak? I've said everything I wanted to say to you. "

Anko smiled sadly. "You and I were such big friends before. Your father has forgiven me, why can't you?"

"Because my father didn't want this getting into the news and damage his reputation as well as yours. Besides, the man was happy to get rid of me, I guess he could care less about what you've done. He knew you didn't love him."

"That's not true, I loved him dearly," Anko snapped back.

This time Sakura snorted. "Yeah right, he was only a boost for your career. The moment you got a better contract you gathered your things and left. "

Anko opened her mouth to snap back when Kakashi opened the door.

"Dinner is ready. "

Anko smiled sweetly, waving him off while she quickly snatched Sakura's arm to keep her here as she started to walk off. " We'll be there in a second, love, I need to say something to Sakura. "

Kakashi looked confused, staring at the two women before he nodded and walked off. Before Sakura could say something Anko's grip tightened almost painfully. She knew that was going to leave a bruise.

"Tell anything of this to Kakashi and I'll tell him what you did to your last boyfriend. I know you've been chasing after him. Leave him alone. He's mine. "A flash of hurt appeared in Sakura's eyes and the mention of her ex, before it vanished. Instead she had a vile grin as she turned to Anko. "Does that mean I can have Genma? "

Anko looked shocked. Her eyes opened wide as she opened her mouth but no sound came out. _Ha! Didn't think I would find out about him, huh?_ Sakura grinned inwardly.

"I warn you, girl, I've tried to be nice to you and to be your friend. But be careful what you say. You don'twant me as your enemy." With that Anko shouldered Sakura out of her way, stamping her way into Tsunade's apartment. Sakura chuckled briefly, only now noticing that she was shaking badly. Taking another minute to calm herself, she straightened and followed Anko into the dining room.

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

**A/N** So sorry guys! I hadn't guessed it would take this long. School was swallowing my free time up like crazy together with my new position at my job. I promise the next chapter will be a lot longer than this one. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I thank everyone who had taken the time to review/alert/fav this story, I'm glad you like it so much that you wanted to keep track on this. Ill try my best to update more frequently.


	6. Making a deal

**Winning you over**

Although Sakura despised all of the drama at these dinner dates, Tsunade's cooking persuaded Sakura to come around every once in a while. She wasn't a bad cook herself, but her godmother had a way with food that it hit the spot every single time and made you want more.

The moment Sakura stepped back into the apartment, she was surrounded by a delicious aroma coming from the dining room and she suddenly became aware just how little she ate the past few days. It wasn't her fault that work had been so time consuming that she'd skipped a few meals so she could keep up. In fact it felt great to be wanted as much as she was. It was something she had worked hard on her own for, without getting it thrown into her lap so easily just because of whose offspring she was.

With a sigh, Sakura moved into the dining room. She took in the seating arrangements and mentally groaned, annoyed. She had been placed next to her godmother and right in front of the man she was in love with. Ignoring the warning look Anko shot her as Sakura pushed the chair back to sit down, she favoured instead to look at the food plated up in front of her.

"It smells divine, Tsunade," Sakura commented on her food.

The busty blonde grinned, mentally patting herself on her shoulder for job well done. "Of course it does you silly girl! If you came by more often you wouldn't look like the skeleton you do now. Is your cooking that bad you don't want to eat at all? You know you can come around anytime you want right?"

Biting back a flow of curse words, Sakura choose to throw back her sake instead of saying what she really wanted to say. She hated that Tsunade could insult her in so many ways and still sound concerned over her well-being. Putting down her cup and pouring another one, she tried to let this one slide. But alas Tsunade apparently didn't want to.

"Seriously Sakura, do you eat at all? I didn't raise you to be anorexic."

"Can we please just eat the goddamn food without making me regret coming here?" Sakura grumbled, slamming the sake bottle down.

"Tsunade, leave Sakura alone. I know for one that she had loads of work on her plate the last couple of weeks," Kakashi interjected. He didn't want a fight breaking out right now. It was supposed to be a happy dinner date since it was the first time in three months Sakura showed up. He had warned her before the pink haired girl arrived to keep the insults to a minimum. Sure it was funny to see Tsunade ruffle the girls feathers, but this was pushing it a bit too far.

Tsunade shrugged, saying it wasn't an excuse to skip important meals but let it slide anyway. Sakura sighed relieved, her green eyes looking up from her plate to look into the mismatched pair of the man in front of her. 'Thank you' Sakura mouthed, silently and Kakashi waved it off with a small smile of his own. Turning her gaze to the food, she was glad that the attention was finally taken away from her appearance. The relief lasted only 'til desert though, because Tsunade found another thing to whine about.

"So Sakura, care to tell me why such a beautiful woman, although thinner than I'd like, is still single?"

Resisting the urge to slam her head against the table, Sakura eyed the desert with mixed feelings. It was self-made tiramisu and she knew for a fact it tasted delicious. But was it worth hearing Tsunade pry into her love life? Complicating her options, Sakura came to the conclusion that no, it wasn't. Pushing the plate away from her, she stood up from the table.

"As tempting this desert is, I hate to say that I have to go. Kiba is off at a photo shoot in Suna and I need to walk and feed his dog."

Seeing Kakashi's eyes narrow at the mention of model, Sakura inwardly cheered. She turned around ignoring the way Tsunade's eyes twinkled at the mention of a potential victim.

"So there is someone!" She followed Sakura to the living room where Sakura's coat was lying, eagerly trying to pry more information out of the girl. "Took you long enough! So is he handsome? Is he good in pleasuring you? If not I have a few tips to-,"

"Yes! He's a model of ANBU Agencies, and he knows just how to scratch the itch, thank you!" Sakura all but yelled out. The tip of her ears were glowing hot red with embarrassment as she hastily tried to make her escape. She heard Anko laugh in the background, and inwardly cursed herself. If Anko had heard her outburst, Kakashi definitely heard it too.

"Ah well, nothing to be worried about then," Tsunade answered smug. "Bring him along sometime, I would love to meet this Kiba of yours."

"We'll see about that." With a hug and a kiss Sakura turned around, ready to leave this behind when Tsunade grasped her arm and pulled her once again in an embrace. This one tighter than the one Sakura had given her.

Her green eyes widened with surprise at the affectionate kiss given on her forehead and the hushed whispers words that followed. "Please look after yourself better, Sakura. I miss you a lot and seeing you this way is hurting me. If there's anything at all you need to talk about, you know my door is always open for you."

Swallowing back the heavy lump, Sakura smiled, a true smile this time. She kissed Tsunade back, hugging her just a tightly before letting go.

"Now off you go!" Tsunade bellowed, ending the intimate scene between them. "That dog of yours is waiting to see your skin."

Not missing the pun Sakura chuckled, turned around and left the apartment.

**xXx**

Ino realized that that she had started to doubt her foolish little plan of hiring herself a boyfriend. She had figured it had been the best course of action to get Sasuke off her case, but the doubts had begun to invade her when she had gotten no word from Sai.

She had been getting ready to head home and prepare herself for Tsunade's dinner, when her phone announced that she had a call. She didn't recognize the number, but she was pleasantly surprised to hear Sai on the other line when she answered. The sound of his voice eased some of her anxieties a little and the fact that he had asked to see her at a bar made her wonder if he would accept. If he wasn't willing to go through with it, he would've told her outright, right?*

Grabbing a few last minute articles that she hadn't been able to revise, Ino shut off the lights to her office and walked out. The car waiting for her in her reserved parking space was a new model, expensive and completely unnecessary. Her father had insisted though and she hadn't had the heart to say no to him; it had been his birthday gift for her twenty-first birthday, the same way he had given her a car for her eighteenth.

The ride to the bar was relatively short and Ino was happy to see that it was more of a casual looking place, otherwise she would've felt the need to go home and change into a cocktail dress. Checking her reflection once to reapply her lip-gloss and brush her fingers through her long, blond hair, Ino finally felt a bit more presentable. She stepped out of her car and made her way inside, passing a motorcycle at the door that caught her eye with its shiny, edgy design.

Once inside the bar, she spotted Sai sitting at a back booth alone, nursing a coke and rum. He had chosen a good place for them to talk. The booth was in a corner, with high-backed seats, offering them some privacy. The bulk of the patrons seemed to be concentrated near the pool tables, the jukebox, and of course the bar itself. She approached him and motioned for him to remain sitting when he made to stand for her.

"Hi," he started.

"How are you, Sai? I was beginning to wonder if you'd ignore my offer," Ino said with an easy smile.

"I'm fine, thank you," he assured her. "I needed some time to think about it. It's not an easy decision to make. You know, you _are_ famous for being an editor at such a young age. Are you sure this isn't going to bring us more problems?" he asked her quietly as she ordered a glass of red wine.

Ino shrugged. "I'm not thinking about any additional problems, but I'm aware that you getting punched in the face is probably making you think twice about this whole situation, and I wanted to apologize for that. Shika can be… aggressive," she murmured.

"Did he…" Sai hesitated for only a moment. "Did he ever hurt you?"

Ino let out a sweet laugh and shook her head as her wine was brought over. "Of course not. If he'd ever tried to, he would've met with a nasty surprise," she said, shaking her head. At his questioning look, she shrugged. "I'm trained and very proficient in martial arts. I can hold my own against a lot of people. I trained under Maito Gai himself together with Sakura. That's how we first met."

Sai was amazed at her words. He had heard stories of Gai's students. "Is it true that you can shatter cement with your fists?" he asked curiously.

Ino grinned and shrugged one shoulder. "I guess you'd have to get me mad enough to find out," she said playfully. Although she couldn't herself, never paying attention to those lessons, she knew for a fact Sakura could do it with ease.

Sai chuckled and took a sip of his drink. "You're certain that our fake relationship will be believable?"

"Does this mean you're accepting?" Ino countered, brushing her bangs away from her eyes as was habit for her now.

He sat back to watch her for a few seconds. It surprised him that she was so professional even in this setting; she wasn't even fidgeting under his probing gaze. This really was a business deal to her. Sai finally nodded. "I guess it does."

"Good," Ino said with a small sigh of relief. "I think we can work it out. There will have to be some touching, hand holding, and you know, couple-stuff when we go out in public. Not enough to be uncomfortable, but enough for the cameras to catch it."

"What about kissing?" Sai asked, twirling his straw in his drink. He read in a lot of books that kissing was one of the main factors that happened between couples. "A couple doesn't look like one unless they're caught kissing once or twice either."

"You're right," Ino murmured, catching the way the solitary lamp hanging above them cast shadows over his face. "Well, we don't have to jump right into it on the first date or anything. We'll… ease into it."

Sai nodded and looked at the time. "Do you have anywhere to be right now?"

"Aside from going home and doing more work?" Ino asked with arched brow and shook her head. The dinner at Tsunade's would be over by now, so no need to go there.

"I know of a place nearby where we can give this whole fake-date thing a run," he said, standing and reaching for his wallet.

Ino shook her head and dropped a few yen notes before he could say anything. She pulled him towards the door and noted the frown on his face. "What?"

"You can't do that," Sai chided. "If we're going to make them believe that you're really interested in me, you have to let me pay at the places we go to. Otherwise it will prove the theory that is bound to come up."

"What theory?" Ino asked as they stopped in front of the motorcycle.

"That I am dating you for your money," Sai clarified.

Ino hummed in understanding, her eyes flickering over the women eyeing Sai. She smiled to herself. Sai was a handsome man and it was truly funny to see the looks of envy other females were shooting her. "You're right. I'll be sure to give you our arranged amount tomorrow so that you can start paying yourself. Okay?"

Sai nodded, still feeling a little awkward with this new arrangement. It all seemed surreal and yet a part of him couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to really date her. But he couldn't do that to himself. He had to think of this as a business arrangement because it wouldn't do if he fell for her when she saw him as nothing but a _business associate. _"Would you like to take my ride?" he asked, motioning towards his motorcycle.

Ino looked at the motorcycle and then at her short black skirt. Sai followed her line of vision, allowing his eyes to linger a little and then shrugged. "Why don't you follow behind me?"

She smiled and nodded, walking off towards her car. There was another short drive until they made it to a small restaurant sitting on the corner of the street and near a park. The inside was all a modern design with a small hint of vintage. The candles burning in the center of the tables added a romantic air to it all. There were paper walls dividing each booth, and the seats were made of soft, comfortable, tan-colored cushions. There were few people there at the moment, but it was a fine place to start out with Sai. Maybe she'd even get to know a little more about him.

As they took a seat in one of the booths, Ino remained silent and gave Sai the opportunity to order for the both of them to see how he handled being in charge. Once the waitress had walked off to get their orders, Ino watched him fidget with his napkin, something obviously on his mind.

"Tell me about you," Sai started, beating her to it. "I'm required to know at least the most basic things about you."

"Where should I start?" Ino asked him with a sigh.

"Well, where were you born? I know the question bothered you the last time I asked, but it's something that I need to know, in case it comes up."

She stared into his dark eyes, so familiar, yet so different from anything she had seen in a long time and finally nodded. "I was born in Konoha but raised in Erabu, a small town close to it."

That name, now Sai knew why Ino looked so familiar. "I know you. You're that girl that always hung out on the flower fields."

Ino's eyes widened with surprise. The only one who knew Ino grew up in Erabu was Sakura because they shared stories together when they trained under Maito Gai. But now looking at him, she remembered him as well. "You and your brother were always painting on the town square!"

Sai nodded, smiling at the fact Ino still knew him after so much time. They chuckled, remembering their small but easy interactions when they were kids. Ino shook her head, her eyes sincere. "I considered you my friend, and I missed you once you were gone," she said, letting the statement hang between them.

"I remember you were with Mr. Uchiha then. What happened?" Sai prodded gently.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "The summer I turned fifteen, his family stayed at the Uchiha Manor—you remember, right? The mansion on the path to Hokage Mountain?" At his nod, she continued. "Well, he and his family stayed there during a summer vacation. I met him then and we hit it off. His family didn't know that we were together. That their precious boy was in love with some poor country girl, but we were happy. Until—until, well, I think it's best if I leave things there."

Sai could see her throat working as she swallowed and her eyes turned glassy. It was the first time he wasn't seeing her as the calm and composed head of a magazine. He was seeing her as that sweet little girl he had often watched from far away. "We don't have to talk about that now," he assured her, closing his hands over hers.

Ino stared at his hand and then nodded, a smile flitting across her lovely features. "Thank you for not prodding. My past is something that not many people know about. Not even my father and Kakashi," she said quietly.

Their food was brought over and they ate in companionable silence as the night became darker and a few stars shone in the sky. "What about you?" Ino asked, once they had filled up with delicious Suna cuisine. "You're different. I remember that I couldn't even get a 'hi' out of you back when we were young. Now, if I remember correctly, you were the one who asked me to share a drink with you at the party," she said, grinning.

Sai cleared his throat, realizing that she was right. "My brother died when I was fourteen, only a few years after we moved away from Erabu."

"I'm sorry," Ino said quietly.

"Thanks," he said, a sad little smile on his face. "My father left me alone after that, but I got some money from him every month to survive. I moved to a small studio apartment and started doing what I knew best. I sent an application to an art school and I got in."

"And your career? I've heard a lot of things circulating the building. Is it true that you're a photographer?" Ino asked in genuine interest.

"Almost," Sai said with a chuckle, his eyes bright as the love for his profession shone through. "I'll be graduating this year. If you ever have time, I can show you my work," he offered, feeling something funny speeding through his chest at the slow smile on her face.

"That would be lovely," Ino said honestly. She didn't know where the desire to get to know him was coming from, but it was undoubtedly there. Sai was someone from her past who hadn't truly hurt her, even if he had left her before she had a chance to actually talk to him, and he was back, offering her his friendship when she had been trying to hire him for some petty little plan. Ino looked away from him, guilt making itself known in her chest.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"About what?" Sai asked with a frown. He had seen her eyes close off from the carefree look that had come over her, even after her unpleasant memories from her past.

"It's not fair for me to ask you to do something like this for me. Even though we didn't get to develop our friendship, I want us to be friends now. You're the only reminder of a time before everything went to hell," Ino said quietly.

Sai looked at her and smiled slightly. "What if I still want to help you? We can still be friends while we _prank _the world, can't we?" he asked mischievously.

"Are you completely sure? This charade will take up a lot of your time and I don't know… maybe it'll ruin any chances you may have at wanting to date someone you've met," Ino said seriously.

"If there had been a girl on my mind now, believe me, I would've said no," Sai assured her. "If we can talk honestly here, I must confess that I don't like Sasuke Uchiha much."

Ino let out a bright laugh. "Sai, are you truly sure? Won't it be awkward while we're trying to be friends?"

"Well, I think that first and foremost you're my boss," he said. "We're not completely friends yet, but we're getting there."

Her sky-colored eyes were twinkling again. "So if I order you around, you'll have to do all that I say?"

"Well, it really depends on what you order me to do," he offered with a wink that made Ino blush. The look was terribly endearing on her, and Sai found himself eager to see more of this girl that he had missed out on getting to know.

"Fine," Ino said, smiling shyly; all semblance of the professional editor was gone, and she couldn't say that she minded one bit. "As long as you allow me to pay you anyway." When he started to protest, Ino shook her head. "You're in school and you need the money. Think of this as a job while we get to know each other as friends, okay?"

Sai still didn't look convinced, but he nodded when he noted the determination in her intense gaze. "So…" he started, bringing her knuckles to his lips, "I'm dating a pretty famous lady. And a beautiful one to make things more interesting."

Ino giggled in amusement, feeling a little appalled at the fact that she was _giggling._ Sweet Kami, where had all her professionalism gone? One look at those dark coal eyes and she was a teenager again. She wouldn't have said it aloud, but she'd always had a puppy-love type of crush on him when they had been young. Sai had certainly filled in at all the right places, and he was a very handsome man. "Are you prepared for what's to come?" she asked him pleasantly.

Sai paused at the look on her face and then nodded slowly. "I guess I am. As a photographer, I know what the paparazzi do," he said in annoyance.

"Did you ever go into that line of work?" she asked curiously.

"No." He shook his head vehemently. "I'm more into the photojournalism field," he confessed while he paid for their food. They walked slowly out into the calm night, knowing that the evening was over but enjoying it while it lasted. Sai grinned to himself, and slowly wrapped an arm around her waist, feeling Ino stiffen slightly at his touch.

"You have to get used to it. Otherwise the ruse will be over quickly," he said seriously.

Ino nodded and relaxed against his side. Their walk towards the parking lot was quiet and slow. He didn't move his hand from her waist, and neither did he attempt to try to touch her in any other way.

"I guess we still have a lot to catch up on," she murmured.

He let out a sigh and nodded. "I guess we do. I have some important assignments coming up this weekend, but if you'd like, we could go out to dinner as friends and as a 'couple,' on Monday?"

Ino nodded. "I'd like that. It can be our first official date," she said, smiling. "I'll contact you if work decides to interfere." They stopped by her car and stood in silence for a moment. "Thank you for doing this. It's immature and kind of embarrassing, but you have my gratitude for not blowing me off."

Sai nodded and took one of her hands in his, bringing it to his lips. "Don't thank me yet. We don't even know if it's going to work," he murmured.

"I have a feeling it will," Ino assured him, moving forward to brush her lips against his jaw. "Have a good night, Sai," she said before turning and unlocking her car door. She slid onto the supple leather of her seat and smiled as she looked at Sai once more. Her eyes lingered on him for a moment, before he closed the door for her and she waved at him.

Sai watched her go with a sigh and sat on his bike, revving the engine. He had a bad feeling that his "relationship" with Ino would cause him problems later on. Well, society was about to get a wake-up call. He had never been big on acting, but he would play the part as best he could. Pulling out onto the road, he made his way home. He may have started doing this for some extra money, but now it didn't sit well with him. He and Ino could've been good friends if it hadn't been for his moving. He felt like a piece of his past had come back to his life, and he wanted to get close to her. Not in a romantic way, but he knew that he wanted to genuinely help her.

Grinning to himself, he realized that Ino's plan had trouble written all over it, but for once, he found that he didn't care. It was about time he did something wild and crazy in his life. He was done playing it safe.

**xXx**

"Ooh, I see that the girls came out to play today," Ino teased Sakura in the morning of a new week at the office. She had stepped out of the elevator in time to catch Sakura walking out of her own office, handing over some important papers to her assistant.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Sakura grinned and shrugged, looking down at her usually non-existent cleavage.

She had on a handy top that passed for a corset and that pushed 'the girls' up so that they were pretty much visible. Aside from that, it cinched her tiny waist to give Sakura a nice hourglass shape, even when she didn't need it. Despite not being too well endowed in a certain department, Sakura had a waist and hips to die for; she just hadn't seen it for herself yet, Ino mused.

"Is this part of the plan to seduce Kakashi into your web?"

"Geez, Pig, you make me sound like a black widow," Sakura muttered, smoothing a hand over her skinny jeans. Damn, but she did feel hot. "Might as well give him _something_ to look at."

Ino grimaced. She really did not want to think about her uncle looking at her best friend that way. She handed Moegie a few black portfolios containing the articles ready for publishing and noticed that her assistant was giving her a look.

"Yes, Moegi?" she asked after a moment. Sakura looked at her too.

"You really haven't seen the magazines?" asked Moegi in amazement. She handed over three different tabloids, each with different pictures of her and Sai together leaving the bar and then dining at the small restaurant.

"Sweet mother of—!" Ino nearly yelled. She stormed into her office with Sakura close on her heels.

The shorter woman closed the door and turned to her friend with an inquisitive look. "So… the messenger boy."

"That was our first date," said Ino lamely. She glared down at the incriminating photos and let out a heavy sigh. "I didn't think they'd get those so fast. I mean, it's not like I'm some sort of famous celebrity," she ranted.

"There's more," Sakura said with conviction. "Ino, we've known each other for years, and I can tell when you're lying. I may actually be the only person who can actually _look _at you and know when you're omitting the truth. What's going on?"

It only took Ino a few minutes to cave under her friend's look. She told her everything. From Sasuke's visit, to her shifty plan, to the fact that Sai was someone she had known in her past. "Does it seem petty and immature or what?" she finally asked, letting out a deep breath.

Sakura let out a loud laugh. "Seriously, you're asking me that? _Me. _I'm trying to seduce your uncle when we both know that, even though I'm hot, I really can't compare to his supermodel girlfriend," she muttered.

"Forehead, you're a beautiful woman," Ino said in all honesty, earning a smile from her friend. It wasn't often that Sakura needed some reassuring, but Ino knew that since the moment Sakura had seen Kakashi in a different light, something in her had changed. It made her think that this truly wasn't a game to Sakura.

The shorter woman grinned suddenly. "It's actually a pretty interesting plan. I don't know if it'll work the way you want it to though."

"How do you mean?" Ino asked, frowning in confusion.

"Well, what if while you're pretending to like him, you actually fall for him?" Sakura asked her pointedly.

Ino shrugged off Sakura's words. "Sai and I are barely even friends. I can't possibly know if we're even romantically compatible," she said, easing into her chair and turning on her computer.

"He's hot, single, and he was willing to help you out without you paying him. If that's not good man material, I don't know what is," Sakura said with a wink.

"I'm _not_ going to fall for him," Ino assured her. "I only need to make it all convincing. Hopefully in a few weeks Sasuke will leave me alone."

Sakura tapped her finger against her lips thoughtfully. Ino was brushing things off too easily, and she had a feeling that this plan would bring about more than Ino expected. For now she would leave it alone. "Alright, I'll keep my hands busy on your publicity so this thing won't turn into a scandal for this company. You can count on me, Pig. Now back to actual business. I'm thinking of giving this whole 'men in power' issue some big hype. If we pick them wisely, we'll have an issue that is guaranteed to sell out. I need you to find the men so that we can start the publicity for it. Keep in mind that they have to be hot and have actual style," she said with a bright grin.

"I'll talk to Tenten to see if she'll brainstorm with me. I want her to be the photographer for that issue," Ino said with a nod. "I'll also have to ask some of my reporters to see who the most popular men are at the moment."

Sakura nodded. "Sounds like the beginnings of a plan. Also, is it true that you're going out to lunch with Uchiha's wife?" she asked in disbelief.

Ino nodded and sat back in her chair. "Yes. I was the one who offered to have lunch with her. It'd be nice to get some dirt on my filthy ex."

"You are one evil woman," Sakura said, grinning. "And you know I love you for it. I have to go though, I have work to do. Remember not to fall in love with your messenger boy."

Ino glared at her. "I really hope that whatever you need to work on doesn't include seducing my uncle during business hours," Ino called as Sakura began to walk towards the door, sashaying a little in her needle thin high-heels. "I know for one how many clients are lining up for you this month alone."

"Don't ask, don't tell," Sakura said before she was out the door. She smiled to herself as she heard Ino's laugh and turned to wave at Moegie before continuing to her office. As she neared her own door, the elevator began to open, revealing the object of her steamy dreams. Sakura nearly tripped in her heels, (damn it! She was supposed to be a graceful seductress!), but she was thankful her blunder wasn't too obvious.

Passing by her own assistant's desk, grabbing some portfolios that she would deliver to another floor herself, Sakura continued on her way. Her path would undeniably cross with his, and she grinned inwardly at the little idea forming in her head. She looked down at the documents in her hands as Kakashi turned his attention to his phone.

The next thing Kakashi knew, he had found himself with an armful of young woman, all curves, and surrounded by a subtle, flowery scent. His phone and the portfolios she had been holding were somewhere by their feet, and the entire front of her body was completely pressed up against his.

"Weren't you watching where you were going?" he asked her mildly.

Sakura looked up at him with wide, emerald colored eyes. There was a bit of pink coloring her cheeks, and her lips were set in an alluring pout. "I looked down for only a second," she said coolly. "Besides, you were supposed to move aside for me."

Kakashi became glaringly aware of the fact that his hands were resting on the curve right above her bottom and that her hands were resting demurely over his chest. He abruptly released her and stepped back, kneeling to recover the things they had dropped. Being the gentleman that he was, he handed over Sakura's things first, trying to ignore the shape of her legs and the height of her heels. Picking up his phone, he stood upright and watched her smile slowly.

"Have a good day, Kakashi," she said before brushing past him and walking right into the elevator. Kakashi refused to turn and look at her, but Sakura found herself smiling inwardly in triumph. Even if he denied it, or used his girlfriend as an excuse, Sakura knew that she was coming up on Kakashi's woman-radar now. It made her feel giddy inside because she knew that her plan had some probability of working. Suddenly her day seemed brighter.

**xXx**

Kakashi sat brooding in his office chair, silently contemplating the beautiful face-shot of Anko sitting on his desk. Unfortunately, his mind had opted to provide images of Sakura in that getup she had been in today. It also reminded him of the feel of her soft body pressed up against his, her eyes wide in her pretty, youthful face, and the soft scent of her clinging to his suit. Though he did prefer that the people working for himself and his niece adhered to a professional, if stylish, appearance, he knew Sakura usually did as she wished and Ino allowed her to practically get away with murder.

He had always been aware that Sakura was a beautiful girl, he had seen her growing up fast under Tsunade's care, but he hadn't been aware of the woman lurking underneath. He had seen that woman at the fashion show, and again only a few minutes ago. He would be lying if he said he hadn't _looked_ at her before. Today he'd had fuel added to the fire and he knew what those curves felt like now.

His common sense came roaring back, reminding him that he had a girlfriend he loved and that he had no business ogling other women. Gritting his teeth, Kakashi set to work, allowing himself thoughts on a woman who was not Anko was a recipe for trouble.

**To be continued..**

_A/N:_ And I'm back! Sorry it had taken so long and I'm not going to bore you to tears with long explanations. I didn't feel like to but now having found a muse (in form of my lovely new boyfriend) he encouraged me to start writing again.

So thanks to all of you that had the patience to wait on me. And for those I have a small sneak preview into the next chapter and… *drum rolls please* ….

REBIRTH!

Yes you read it right, a sneak preview into the newest chapter I'm working on for my story called Rebirth. I'm still working on it, giving it my last final touches before my beta will read it. Now first there will be a preview for the next chapter on this story the following one will be for Rebirth.

_The sound of a new voice drifted to her ears, as deep but of a different baritone of Kakashi's, though just as sexy. She turned to look and found a man standing next to the object of her affections, chatting like old friends. He looked to be in his thirties, but he had a handsome face, complete with a neatly trimmed facial hair, and playful brown locks. Sakura stared, momentarily forgetting that Kakashi was standing behind the man._

_The stranger took her in with pleasant surprise written on his face, and he stepped forward. "So many beautiful women working here, Kakashi. How do you keep your hands to yourself?" he asked with a sly grin._

_"I manage," Kakashi responded dryly._

_The man turned back to Sakura. "And who might you be?"_

_Before Sakura could respond, Kakashi beat her to it. "This is Miss Sakura Haruno, our PR." _

_To Sakura's ears, he sounded a bit possessive when he said "our," but she could've been hearing what she wanted. "Nice to meet you," she said, extending her hand._

_"I'm Yamato Tenzou, and believe me, the pleasure is all mine," Yamato said, taking her hand and turning it over so that he could kiss her knuckles._

_"Well, thanks," Sakura said, a light blush on her cheeks. Her eyes slid over to Kakashi and she noted that he had a blank look on his face. Was it because he was annoyed or could it be that he was jealous? "Are you a friend of Kakashi's?" she asked in interest._

_Yamato inclined his head once. "In a sense, but I also happen to be the accountant for the company. Now don't get discouraged. I'm not as boring as my job makes me sound," he said in a light tone._

_Sakura laughed and nodded. "I'll take your word for it," she said, still smiling._

_"Maybe one of these days I could persuade you to join me for dinner?" Yamato asked, his dark eyes fixed on her face._

_"Maybe," Sakura said, shrugging. She could see that Kakashi was slowly losing his mask of indifference and was starting to look impatient. "I'll have to check my schedule," she said playfully._

Yes ladies and gents! Competition on the rise! Hihi.. Now on to the next small preview..

_It was like her world was falling apart. To see a person vanish right in front of your eyes knowing you will never see them again. But it wasn't only her mother she lost. Her strong and proud father, a man shed rarely seen in tears, had been broken. He was now but a shadow of the man Sakura knew him to be and loved. The funeral had been beautiful. The sky has been cloudless, the birds chirped their own melody. It had been arranged as her mother would have wanted to the smallest detail. But it wasn't the funeral that made everything so agonizingly painful. When all the distant relatives had given her and her father their condolences, they had the nerve to ask if she left anything for them. But even in a daze, her green eyes taking in the image of her father yelling in rage, chasing off her greedy family members hadn't been the worst. They would leave, back to their own homes far away from Konoha. Their words and actions from today would be forgotten as the times passed by. _

_It was the empty, hollow space her mother left behind. To know that when she and her father got home, they'd see the half eaten sandwich her mother made never to be eaten by the same person. To see random bits of pieces clothing of her lying around, her small notes to help Sakura remember about her chores, or the more personal ones that told her in different ways just how much she loved and was proud of her daughter. That hurt the most. To walk the dark corridor and see their parents' bedroom door ajar. Just enough space for Sakura to look through and see her father sitting alone on the bed, his hands shielding his face from her as he cried into her mother's nightgown. _

_Swallowing the heaviness away Sakura pushed the door open and all but jumped towards her father. Her arms were thrown around his neck, their sounds of mourning mingling as they sought comfort by each other. She was pulled into his lap, comfortable for her to sit and easier for him to hold his kin. _

Well that was it for now, hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for more


	7. Competition

Sai watched Ino curiously as she revised some articles with practiced ease. They had been sitting in silence for a few minutes while she finished up. He knew that she was agitated because of the articles in the magazine regarding their date, especially since they had broken the news before Ino had decided to do it herself. "They got the jump on us," he said, watching her set the papers and pen aside.

Ino nodded and smiled slightly to herself. "I didn't know I was being followed. I guess we'll have to watch our backs every time we go out."

Sai made an amused sound. "What do you want to do now?"

"We'll go on with our plan. My uncle will probably talk to you about your intentions at some point, but you can go ahead and ignore him. He's not the violent type," Ino said lightly.

"That's good to know," Sai mumbled. "Do I get to suggest where we'll go for our dates, or is this something that you'll decide?"

"Well, we can take turns if you'd like. Oh, and I must tell you that there's a fundraiser coming up that requires a black suit and tie," Ino said. At the look on his face, she laughed. "Do you own any suits?"

"Never had need for them," he replied with a shrug.

"Okay, well, I'll find something for you, and don't say no. I know you really want to pay for your own things, but I can get you a suit at no cost," Ino said. At his unconvinced look, she smiled. "I promise that this will be the only time I'll give you a gift."

"Okay," he said lightly, convinced by the sweet curve of her lips. Sai stood from the chair he had been lounging in and looked at his watch. "My break is over and I need to get back to work. I'm delivering a few things to Uchiha from your uncle today," he said.

Ino's gaze snapped to his. "I advise you to be on your guard. If you deal with Sasuke personally, he will probably attempt to rile you up. Please, don't rise to his bait."

Sai nodded once. "I'll try my very best to not snap." He stopped at the door and turned to her. "What are you doing this Saturday night?"

Ino thought about it for a moment. "I think I'm free. Why?"

"How about I pick you up at six?"

"For what?" Ino asked, pleasantly curious.

"That is a secret, Miss Yamanaka," he said with a wink. "Oh, and wear relaxed clothing. Jeans—if you own any," Sai said before smiling slightly and walking out.

**xXx**

Sakura hummed happily as she waited for the elevator doors to pop open on her own floor. She just met with several sponsors for the newest show. The portfolios were delivered and now she only had a meeting with the graphic designers for the newest advertisement today. After that she was free to do what she wanted. The familiar ding reached her ears but instead of seeing Naruto waiting for her with her electronic planner in hand, she saw a little girl.

"Hello," Sakura said with a friendly smile. "Who might you be?"

The girl looked up at her with big, brown eyes and from under long bangs of brown hair. She smiled sweetly back at her. "My name is Kasumi. My papa couldn't find a babysitter for me, but I wanted to come see the last floor of this really pretty building!" she said excitedly.

Sakura felt her heart warm at the sight of the child, so carefree and excited to explore everything around her. "Who is your papa?" she asked.

"Gorou Ryou. He sits at the computers and keeps everyone safe. But I have to get back now. He'll be looking for me," said Kasumi, moving towards the elevators.

Sakura felt worry gnaw at her chest when she realized that the little girl couldn't have been more than six and that she had been exploring the building on her own. She was all for allowing a developing mind freedom to discover new things, but there were unknown individuals walking in and out of the building. "How would you like to go see how we decide which photos will be placed and which didn't make the cut?"

Kasumi's eyes lit up. "I like pictures, but my papa is waiting for me," she said a little sadly.

Sakura lifted her chin and offered Kasumi a reassuring smile. "Then let's go ask your papa if he's okay with you spending some time with me, okay?"

"Okay!" Kasumi cheered, slipping her tiny hand into Sakura's.

Naruto smiled and noticed the sad look on his boss's face. "Are you okay, Sakura?"

"Yes," Sakura assured him quickly. "Kasumi…,she reminds me of the last time I was truly happy," she said quietly.

Naruto offered her a sympathetic smile, knowing what she was referring to. They've been childhood friends since their first day at school. "I'll go ahead and let the graphics team and Ino know that you're on your way so that they can get everything ready."

"Thank you, Naruto," Sakura said with grateful smile. "Come on Kasumi, let's go talk to your papa," she said, leading the child towards the elevator. Kasumi looked up at her with a captivating smile and sparkling brown eyes, awakening a feeling inside of Sakura she hadn't experienced before. She smiled back and together they stepped onto the elevator.

**xXx**

Kakashi Hatake had always been a man of seriousness and professionalism. He prided himself in being a man in control. Lately, his control had been beyond tested. First of all, he found that his eyes wandered without his permission whenever Sakura Haruno was around and not paying him any attention. She had taken to wearing very short, very form-fitting clothing, but not to the point of being tasteless or obscene. She was a woman who had made her career as a PR in the fashion industry, and she knew how to dress herself. There was always a patch of her smooth, pale skin showing, and even though he tried to fill his head with thoughts of Anko, his mind wouldn't cooperate.

Maybe it had something to do with the fact that his beloved was on a tour with a fashion designer in the Eastern Continent. She had recently signed a contract of six months, and he would only get to see her a few times a month while she was away. But Sakura wasn't the only problem at the moment. No, he found that ever since Ino had walked into his life, she had been the main source of his headaches.

Though she had been a straight-A student all through school, she had grown into a beautiful woman. She'd had various men buzzing around her, and seeking her attention. I hadn't taken him long to love her, even though they had met almost as adults, but he found that being a big brother figure drove him crazy. Inoichi had chuckled and only asked to meet the boys she dated, but Kakashi was the one who had always worried about her safety and of the fact that hormonal males had no business around his little niece. Knowing that her father didn't worry so much about it, he knew he had to keep an eye on her to make sure she was safe. He'd had a problem with her dating Gaara, then Deidara, and of course Shikamaru, but Ino never listened to his words of advice.

Now she was dating some man they had recently hired as the messenger boy and she probably knew nothing about him. He'd have to call his sources to dig up information on this Sai Root. What else could the man want but her money? Glaring into space, Kakashi grit his teeth when his office phone went off.

"Yes?" he asked.

His assistant's voice came through, slightly annoyed. "I have a Mr. Uchiha here to see you," she said.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow in curiosity. What could the man possibly want? "Send him in," he replied. Uchiha walked in and shook hands with him. "What can I do for you, Sasuke?" Kakashi questioned, motioning for the chair in front of him.

Sasuke sat and crossed his ankle over his knee. "I wanted to personally come to invite you to a dinner at my home with my wife," he said.

"Thank you for the invitation. You didn't have to come down here for that."

"I know, but as an esteemed colleague, I felt it was necessary," Sasuke shrugged. "I hope you know this means that your niece should be invited as well."

Kakashi nodded. "I will make sure to relay the message, but you should know that Ino doesn't usually have free weekends. Especially now, I think."

"You mean because of the joke of a man she is dating?" Sasuke asked, toning down his sneer.

Kakashi gave him an inquiring look and leaned back against his chair. "Do you know him?" he asked. If he did, Kakashi had a lot of questions about the new man in Ino's life.

"Not personally, but he's the sibling of a deceased employee of mine," Rufus replied. "Shin was an honorable man. I can't say the same about his brother, but that may be because I don't know him."

Mismatched eyes looked thoughtful. "You believe he is a dangerous for Ino?"

Sasuke smirked inwardly. He had originally planned to turn Kakashi against Sai, and the man was giving him the perfect opening at the moment. What better way to get Root out of the way than by making Ino's uncle hate him? "A man of his position would look for financial gain. Ino may be blind to his intentions," he supplied.

Kakashi sighed. "If there is one thing I have come to learn about my niece, it's that she does as she pleases. Nothing I do will make her stop seeing this man."

"Why don't you just fire him?" Sasuke asked coolly, his blue eyes matching his tone.

"She was the one who hired him, not I. What is your sudden concern with Ino, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked suspiciously, giving the other man a piercing look.

"It's nothing in particular. I am beginning to see you as a friend. My concern for her stems out of my consideration of you as a friend."

Kakashi measured his words, but he somehow had the feeling that Sasuke was not being truthful about his interest in Ino's current love life. It disturbed Kakashi on a whole other level. Sasuke was a married man, and the last thing Kakashi wanted was for his niece to get involved with a man who had a wife.

"In any case, I will speak to her about this," Kakashi said with a shrug. "I don't mean to be rude, but I have a meeting in five minutes. I appreciate you coming all the way down here."

Sasuke nodded and stood, shaking hands with Kakashi as they both walked towards the door. As they exited, Sai and Ino stepped out of her office, smiles on their faces. Kakashi noted the way Ino's smile faded completely at the sight of the man standing next to him.

"Kakashi, I think we need to talk," Ino started, completely ignoring Sasuke standing next to him.

"Hello, Miss Yamanaka," Sasuke said with a snooty smirk.

"Sasuke," Ino said, voice devoid of its usual sweetness. "What brings you around here?"

"I came over to personally invite both you and your uncle to have dinner with my wife and me," Sasuke said, catching the tightening of her beautiful eyes at the corners. "It is this Saturday."

"Unfortunately I have to decline. Sai and I already have plans." Ino's gentle demeanour returned as she gazed at the messenger boy.

"Ino," Kakashi said in warning tone.

"No, it's quite alright. I will have to tell Karin to move the dinner to next weekend. You can bring your friend if you wish," Sasuke said, a note of sarcasm slipping into his voice as he said "friend."

Ino looked at Sai and winked. "What do you say? Are you up to changing our dinner plans for the Saturday after this one?"

"If it's what you wish," he said, his eyes darting to her lips.

Ino smiled. "I guess we'll be there," she said, ignoring Kakashi's glare. "If you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I have to get a few things done," she said before walking off with Sai towards the elevator.

**xXx**

"I'd been waiting for you to come and see me. Took you long enough."

Kakashi grunted and turned away from the impressive view from the window behind Ino's desk. "Ino, do you even know this man?" he asked her in slight agitation.

"I'm tired of dating assholes," she admitted.

Despite the situation, a small chuckle left her uncle. "What makes this man different?"

Ino shrugged. "I knew him when we were children."

"And this makes him trustworthy?" Kakashi asked, bemused.

Ino sighed in irritation. Why was she always being questioned about any personal decision she made? " Kakashi, I appreciate the whole 'big brother' thing, but I'm a woman. I've dated enough men to know who's a good guy and who isn't."

"If that's true, why did you last so long with Shikamaru?" Kakashi asked in annoyance. He had really despised the man.

Ino began to organize the papers on her desk, setting them aside so that she could sit at her chair and check her phone when it let her know that there was a message waiting for her. "I don't think you want to know about his prowess in bed," she said, laughing at the disgusted noise Kakashi expelled.

"Back to the point: Ino, have you stopped to think that this man may only be interested in furthering his own career?" Kakashi asked, leaning on her desk right next to her.

"I'm thinking of redecorating my office," Ino said absently, ignoring his question.

"Listen to me, Ino. All I want is to keep you safe. Despite you being a grown woman, you're my lil' niece. I don't want to see you get hurt," Kakashi said quietly.

Ino stood and smiled up at him before wrapping her arms around his neck. "We're not getting too old for hugs, are we?" she asked, smiling when his arms remained at his side. Kakashi had never been the touchy-feely type. It was a wonder he accepted her hugs at all.

He made an amused sound and nodded. "Inoichi wouldn't say so."

"Dad is scared of being a grandfather. I'm telling you Kakashi, if we weren't so deeply entrenched in the fashion industry, he'd have pierced his ear, bought himself a leather outfit, a motorcycle, and married himself a twenty-year old."

Kakashi did chuckle deeply then. "He wants to be ageless. I practically took on the role of the worried father," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Kakashi," Ino started, waiting for their eyes to meet. "I love you. You're my uncle, but you can't protect me from everything. I appreciate you trying to, but I'm a big girl. I need to learn from my own mistakes," she said lightly.

He nodded once. "It doesn't make me worry less. I don't get a very trustworthy vibe from this man."

"Well, that certainly makes me wonder about your instincts when you do business with a man like Sasuke," Ino said, her tone darkening with his insistent doubt when it came to her judgment.

"Has something happened between the two of you that I am not aware of?" Kakashi asked her slowly.

Ino shook her head and clicked away on her smart phone, replying to the message she had received from Sakura. "Nothing you should worry about," she said offhandedly.

Kakashi found that he didn't have the patience to continue questioning her. He had always prided himself in being observant, and there was no better place to exercise his skill than the dinner with Sasuke coming up. "I hope you know I'm going to have that man, uhmm… oh yes, Root investigated."

"You want him to pee in a cup too?" she asked him with a snort.

"Already comfortable enough to ask him for that?" Kakashi countered.

Ino glared at him. "You did not just imply that I'm easy."

Kakashi smirked and stood straight. "Of course I didn't," he deadpanned.

She gave him a rude gesture and pointed at her door. "I have work to do and no time to deal with your immature attitude."

He choked back a chuckle and nodded. "At least call Tsunade to tell her about the new guy. You know she'll want to have him over for dinner too," Kakashi said as he walked towards the door.

"Will do," she said absently.

"Ino."

She glanced up and gave him a questioning look.

Kakashi looked a little uncomfortable, but it didn't stop him from uttering his next words. "You're my little niece and I love you. Don't blind yourself completely by this new man, or any man for that matter."

Ino offered him a soft smile. "Thank you, Kakashi. I'll keep that in mind," she assured him.

Kakashi seemed satisfied with her response and turned to go. Before he could take a step out of the office, he heard her speak. "And I love you too, big brother." He took those words with him and stored them in a special place in his heart where only Ino, Tsunade, Inoichi and Anko were allowed because they were family. He walked back towards his office. He was intent on getting his work completed so that he would be able to leave in time to be able to call Anko while she stayed in Water Country.

He caught a glance of a certain someone, and he groaned to himself. Today she was wearing shorts far too short to be legal. Kakashi shook his head to himself and quickened his pace to his office when his eyes wandered without his permission. He really missed Anko these days.

**xXx**

So much for going home early. An impromptu meeting about the company's finances had set back his work and he'd had to stay and complete a few things. He just hoped that Anko wouldn't be angry that he hadn't called her. As he collected his suit jacket and loosened his tie around his neck, Kakashi moved towards the door, turning off the lights for his office. Outside, the lights were dimmed and everyone had already gone home. The only people around would be the cleaning crew that stopped by every night to keep everything spotless.

Just as he was approaching the elevator, he realized that there was a light still on in Sakura's office, and he could hear quiet noises that sounded like whimpers coming from inside. He closed the distance to her door and opened it wider, quickly scanning the office for any possible dangers. There weren't any, and he realized then that Sakura had fallen asleep at her desk and that she looked in the throes of a nightmare.

He debated with himself for a few seconds on whether or not to wake her up, but as he was turning to go, he heard her give out a louder, fear filled cry. Sighing to himself, Kakashi stepped into the office and walked quickly to her side. He reached out to shake her shoulder gently when she suddenly bolted up and out of the chair with a choked cry, her eyes wild.

"Please, calm down," he said in alarm, watching her gasp for breath and rub a hand over her face a few times.

Once Sakura had regained her bearings, she looked at him. "I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head in mortification.

"Do you usually have these kinds of nightmares?" Kakashi asked with a frown.

She looked tense and uncomfortable. "No." The look on his face showed Sakura that he clearly didn't believe her. "Ah…what are you doing here?" she asked instead.

"I was passing by when I heard you having a nightmare," Kakashi replied. He took a step forward and saw her shoulders stiffen. "You should get home," he said after a moment of silence.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for waking me," she whispered, moving to her desk to shut off her computer and to grab her belongings.

Kakashi hesitated before turning to go, but before he could take a step away, her silence and lack of a smile was unnerving, he looked at her again. "Why don't you join me for dinner?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Sakura paused and stared at him as if he had grown a third eye in the middle of his forehead. Then her lips quirked into a shadow of her normal smile and she nodded. "Okay," she said slowly, uncertain. "Just let me find my phone under all these papers and we can go." She searched under images, flyers, and various other useful notes she had in a chaotic pile. Sakura looked mildly embarrassed when it took her a few minutes to locate her phone. "I'm not usually this messy. It's just that today was a long day," she muttered.

Kakashi nodded once in understanding. He had already been in her office a few times today. He waited for Sakura to shut off the lights, and then walked out the door. "Do you usually stay in this late?"

"Sometimes," Sakura said with a nod. "Sometimes I wish the days had more hours to get all of my work done, but then I figure that it wouldn't really help. Longer days would still mean more work," she muttered.

Kakashi made a sound of amusement. She was rambling, and still he found that he somewhat understood what she was trying to say. "What would you like to eat?"

"I don't know. Surprise me," she said with a smile. She couldn't exactly remember what she had been dreaming about, but she knew that it had been something bad, the sound of screeching tires still ringing through her head. Maybe it was _that_ dream again. Sakura didn't even feel like cheering about Kakashi asking her out to dinner. Because of that stupid dream she wasn't really in a seducing mood. They took their separate cars and drove towards a restaurant/bar that was nearby. They were quickly seated at a small table in the corner, away from the noise and promptly asked for their drinks.

Sakura took one quick scan of their surroundings before turning to look at Kakashi. "Why did you ask me to have dinner tonight?" she asked him, genuinely curious.

Kakashi was a bit startled by her question, but outwardly it didn't show. "I think you needed it. Your nightmares seem like the type that constantly plague someone. Am I wrong?"

Sakura looked away from him and shook her head. "It's a pity dinner, then?" He gave her an exasperated look and Sakura smirked. "Well, never before have you shown interest in befriending me and all of a sudden you do. What am I supposed to think?"

It was true. Even when she was a little girl living together with Tsunade he hadn't paid much attention to her, except when helping her sometimes with her homework or babysitting her every once in a while. Only when she started living on her own and she was working in their PR department did their friendship develop somewhat better than it was before. But friends? Sakura knew she couldn't say that she was that with Kakashi.

"I apologize if I have come off rude. You are Ino's best friend not to mention Tsunade's godchild, and as such, I should've been more courteous with you. Please, take this dinner as a form of apology," Kakashi said seriously.

Sakura grinned and nodded. Wow, sometimes being cute and petite had its advantages. All she had to do was pout a little and men were putty in her hands. "Apology accepted," she said brightly.

Kakashi allowed a small smile to quirk his lips and he nodded in satisfaction. "Good," he said. "Now, how about we order our food and get to know each other a little more? Once you left Tsunade's place we never kept in touch."

"That sounds like a fine idea," Sakura said, masking her excitement. Well, if he was going to allow them to be friends now, it would make her plan easier. Shifting a little in her chair, Sakura crossed her legs and smiled to herself when Kakashi's eyes darted to the long, smooth line of flesh. "Can I get a taste of your wine?"

"Are you aware that I can go to jail for giving it to you in public?" Kakashi countered, a note of amusement in his voice.

Sakura smiled and leaned forward on their small table. "I won't tell if you don't," she said playfully. "Besides, you never complain when I drink sake at Tsunade's place."

Kakashi didn't know what it was about her that made him crazy. It wasn't entirely in a good way either, but Sakura had a way of getting under his skin even without speaking to him. He found himself handing over his glass of wine for her to taste. His eyes swept over her full lips as they parted slightly to taste the dark liquid. "Good?" he asked her in a low voice.

Sakura nodded hesitantly. "I've tasted better," she admitted, handing over the glass before someone else noticed that she was underage.

"Really?" he asked in interest.

"Dinner with Tsunade," Sakura explained. "So—if you're having dinner with me, where's Anko?"

Kakashi leaned back in his chair and sipped his wine before answering. "She's on tour with a new designer. She won't be back for a few weeks."

"Really?" Sakura asked. That was truly perfect. All she hoped was that Anko found someone else to play with while she was gone. And if the thing she saw at the runway was real deal, then it might be true. "You must be lonely."

Kakashi chuckled and shook his head, amused. "I am not a man who needs the constant presence of a woman in his life to continue on. I do miss her, but it's not the end of the world if she is gone—especially if she's working on something that she enjoys."

Sakura shrugged. "Don't you get jealous? She must meet handsome male models," she said with a little shrug. "Anko is a beautiful woman."

His eyes narrowed. "Don't you get jealous of the women surrounding Kiba?"

Sakura felt a smirk work at her lips. So he did know about Kiba and hearing his tone he didn't like it one bit. "Kiba and I are just friends," she said, shrugging. "He can do as he wishes."

"You have an interesting definition of friends," Kakashi said.

"I do," Sakura admitted. "You and I could be friends," she said slowly.

Kakashi stared at her and wondered if she had just made a pass at him so blatantly. It was best to make things clear to her, so that she wouldn't continue to dream. "I love Anko, Sakura. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

The pink haired woman smiled. "I admire that. And I wish you both only the best." Liar, liar, her mind chanted inwardly. "That doesn't mean you won't invite me to dinner again, does it?"

"As long as you convince yourself that we can be friends, and nothing more," Kakashi told her seriously.

"Fine," Sakura said with a pout. "I'll settle for being your friend." She would be his friend, if that was what it took for him to finally see her as a woman. Anko had picked her job above Kakashi, and that would cost her dearly. Despite the fact that she was being conniving and manipulative, Sakura always went after what she wanted—a stubbornness courtesy of her father. She learned from the best after all. Her eyes settled on his glass of wine after they ordered their food. "How about you give me another taste of that wine, friend?"

Kakashi just hid a smile and shook his head. "I don't think so."

**xXx**

Well, her plan was going at the pace of a snail, or at the pace of her father Kiteshi after he had stuffed his face at an all you could eat Sea Buffet. Despite that little fact, Sakura found that she liked that Kakashi was beginning to see her as a friend and not as an annoying mosquito buzzing around his ear. At least he greeted her in the mornings now, instead of ignoring her.

Leaving her office, Sakura handed her assistant a few things to be faxed and stood next to the desk for a few seconds, staring at the door to Kakashi's office. She made an exasperated face and her eyes widened when the door suddenly came open. She turned and pretended to be looking at some documents on the desk, hoping that the man of her dreams hadn't caught her standing there and staring into space like a love-struck fool—never mind if she did feel that way a little.

The sound of a different voice drifted to her ears, as deep but of a different baritone of Kakashi's, though just as sexy. She turned to look and found a man standing next to the object of her affections, chatting like old friends. He looked to be in his thirties, but he had a handsome face, complete with a neatly trimmed facial hair, and playful brown locks. Sakura stared, momentarily forgetting that Kakashi was standing behind the man.

The stranger took her in with pleasant surprise written on his face, and he stepped forward. "So many beautiful women working here, Kakashi. How do you keep your hands to yourself?" he asked with a sly grin.

"I manage," Kakashi responded dryly.

The man turned back to Sakura. "And who might you be?"

Before Sakura could respond, Kakashi beat her to it. "This is Miss Sakura Haruno, she works in PR."

To Sakura's ears, he sounded a bit possessive when he said "our," but she could've been hearing what she wanted. "Nice to meet you," she said, extending her hand.

"I'm Yamato Tenzou, and believe me, the pleasure is all mine," Yamato said, taking her hand and turning it over so that he could kiss her knuckles.

"Well, thanks," Sakura said, a light blush on her cheeks. Her eyes slid over to Kakashi and she noted that he had a blank look on his face. Was it because he was annoyed or could it be that he was jealous? "Are you a friend of Kakashi's?" she asked in interest.

Yamato inclined his head once. "In a sense, but I also happen to be the accountant for the company. Now don't get discouraged. I'm not as boring as my job makes me sound," he said in a light tone.

Sakura laughed and nodded. "I'll take your word for it," she said, still smiling.

"Maybe one of these days I could persuade you to join me for dinner?" Yamato asked, his dark eyes fixed on her face.

"Maybe," Sakura said, shrugging. She could see that Kakashi was slowly losing his mask of indifference and was starting to look impatient. "I'll have to check my schedule," she said playfully.

"I will hold you to that," Yamato said, turning to the man behind him. "You should've mentioned you had someone like Miss Haruno working here. I wouldn't have hesitated to visit sooner," he said, removing a card from the inside of his neat, expensive suit. He handed it to Sakura. "Once you figure out your schedule, call me."

Sakura nodded and watched him as he excused himself and said goodbye to Kakashi and then to her. Her eyes followed Yamato as he walked towards the elevator and entered it. Their eyes met right before the doors closed, and she could've sworn that he was winking roguishly at her.

Kakashi cleared his throat, bringing her attention back to him. "Is there something else you need?" he asked her coolly.

Sakura tried to contain her grin when she realized how much it had bothered him to see another man trying to pick her up. "No," she said, slipping the card into the side pocket of her short business skirt. "Have a good afternoon, Kakashi."

Kakashi watched her turn and walk back towards her office, a bounce to her step. He didn't know what it was that had disturbed him about seeing Yamato hit on Sakura. Maybe it was the age difference, maybe it was something else. He decided to follow her into her office, wondering why she had left her door ajar.

"What can I help you with, Kakashi?" she asked, not even bothering to turn to look at him as she grabbed a few papers from her tidy desk.

"About Yamato—you realize that he is even older than I am, don't you?"

"Well, I guessed that much, but what are you getting at?" she asked, giving him a sidelong look.

Kakashi moved nearer, standing close enough for her scent to invade his senses. "He's a more experienced man, and you—"

"I'm still a kid, right?" Sakura asked him vehemently. "I'll have you know that I've been on my own since I was like fourteen. After my dad shipped me off to a private high school here in Konoha when I was six, while he stayed in Cheri and married a woman half his age. After I came back there I stayed with them one year until a bad break-up happened, and he dumped me at Tsunade's. I went to college on my own too, and I've never had to answer to anyone. I take advice from very few people, but when it comes to my love life, I rarely listen to anyone, so don't be insulted if I don't listen to you."

Kakashi was not thrown off by her little independent speech. "Sometimes we don't want to listen to advice from others, but we need to let go of our pride a little."

Had he implied that she was overconfident? Sakura's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Is there something strange going on with Yamato that I should know?"

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. "He's a good man, and I can vouch for him."

"Then what's the problem?" Sakura asked in exasperation, turning to walk around her desk. She didn't get far, and it startled her to feel Kakashi 's hand on hers, turning her back around to him. She was so startled by it, that she stumbled, allowing for one of Kakashi 's hands to settle around her waist, helping her regain balance.

"You shouldn't wear heels that high," he murmured, staring into her eyes as her mouth parted in surprise. The plump, pink skin of her lips looked inviting and for a second he felt himself inching towards her.

"They make my legs seem longer. Then again, you already knew that," she murmured, making reference to the times she had caught him staring at her legs.

Instead of drawing back and shutting her out, Kakashi smirked. "I thought you and I were friends," he stated lightly, their lips still only inches apart. "The fact that you're nineteen and he's in his mid-thirties worries me because I'm your friend."

Sakura let out a soft sigh and stared down at the silk of his tie; the design of the material reminded her of her mother's kimonos. Her eyes moved up the smooth column of his neck, over his sharp chin, full lower lip—his upper lip only slightly thinner, up the slope of a smooth nose, and to his mismatched eyes. It was great to see him without his mask, even if he only wore it outside of business hours. Who would trust a man well enough to do business with when he wasn't willing to show his face? "Are you sure it isn't something else?" she asked him softly. Her eyes were drawn back to his lips as they parted to give her an answer.

"Sakura-chan, I have some invitations that arrived—" Naruto's voice trailed off as he caught sight of Kakashi in her office and how close the boss was standing next to her. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were busy," he said before racing out.

Sakura nearly fired him on the spot for interrupting what surely would've been an interesting answer and maybe even a kiss from Kakashi. As it was, he had released her and stepped away, recovering his bearings. He wasn't looking at her in the eyes anymore. "I appreciate your concern," she said after a moment, her lips quirking a little.

Kakashi looked at her, his eyes looking like deep pools she could drown in. "But you won't heed my advice," he said with a sigh.

Sakura shrugged. "I'll keep it in mind," she conceded.

Kakashi nodded once and let himself out of her office, shutting the door after him. Sakura watched him go and smiled to herself. Maybe she'd give this Yamato business a try, just to see more reactions from Kakashi. It would also serve for Kakashi to see that she wasn't intimidated by older men. Sakura smiled to herself as she sat back down on her chair. Things were about to get interesting.

_**To be continued…**_

A/N: Thank you all for the wonderful reviews, Im glad that even after so long without update there are still peeps here on this site waiting for me. *hugs*

Guest: Im really glad you liked it, I hope I continue following your expectations through the story and you never get bored with it.


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